The Construction of the East Asian Model for Corporate Social Responsibility: Japan and Korea Compared

Is there an East Asian Model for Corporate Social Responsibility? What is Diversity and Inclusion Evolution in Korea? How has the government made corporations do sustainable philanthropy? What kinds of internal and external systems for CSR do Korean corporations have? How do corporations support NGOs for strategic philanthropy as social investment in Korea? How do the stakeholders—central and local governments, companies, and NGOs—make partnership among them? POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) has operated its community engagement program for local community, future generation, green planet, multicultural society, and cultural heritage as five main fields for its social contribution under “for a Better World” slogan. It provides interesting and systematic program Happy House designed for low income family, of which house is burnt down or a house roofed with slate which becomes cause of cancer in the community. It operates University Student Volunteer Group Beyond for future generation. Through a year-internal and international volunteer work, it educates young people on the basis of their talent. It also helps married immigrant females through Café O Asia, a member of a cooperative association, as for their inauguration of enterprise. Korean now live in the era of the three hundred thousand multicultural families, and they are helping those immigrant women adapt to the Korean culture. In addition, it spreads the de-carbonization movement as Green Planet for environmental protection and cultural heritage movement for protection and care of traditional culture respectively. To promote the sustainable growth of POSCO Group companies and local communities through a variety of social contribution activities, POSCO founded “POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation.” Honorary Chairman Park Tae-Joon (1927-2011) in 1964 became the president of TaeguTec, which was in a chronic loss in finance. One year later, the Taegutec turned around from deficit under his leadership. He established the Pohang Iron and Steel Company as the first president in 1968. 10 years later, POSCO became a global company with 5.5 million ton of steel production per a year, and by 2010 was the world's third largest steelmaker with 21 million ton of crude iron per a year. Through 23 year-process of development of POSCO, he had acted up to his principles on diversity, community, and inclusion for harmony, solidarity, and cooperation in the relations between employee and employer, POSCO and the raw material suppliers, and POSCO and the consumers. This research will focuse on how POSCO has developed those projects to revitalize Community and Diversity/Inclusion with NGOs and the governments through its CSR in Korea in the globalizing era. This study also seeks to highlight the POSCO’s own “Community and Diversity/Inclusion” realized by the leadership of honorary chairman Park Tae-Joon.