S. ​Korean companies join efforts to help earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria

By Park Yoon-bae Posted : February 9, 2023, 17:28 Updated : February 9, 2023, 23:27

A man from Turkey checks relief supplies, which will be sent to quake-hit Turkey at a logistics center in Incheon, west of Seoul, February 9. [Yonhap]

SEOUL -- Major South Korean companies and banks have committed to helping earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria by offering rescue equipment and relief supplies as well as cash donations.
 
Hyundai Motor's Turkish subsidiary said on February 8 that it will provide $450,000 worth of equipment and daily necessities for quake-hit people. The firm already delivered emergency rescue equipment worth $50,000 to help save people trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings.
 
Kim Sang-su, head of the subsidiary, was quoted as saying that the assistance will be of help to affected residents in the quake-stricken region. He extended words of consolation to those suffering difficult times in Turkey which was hit hard by a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6.
 
HD Hyundai, formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries, has promised to provide 10 excavators to help Turkey's restoration work. A company manager expressed hope that the residents will go back to their peaceful daily lives as soon as possible.
 
Doosan Group also plans to deliver $1 million worth of equipment including Bobcat skid-steer loaders, excavators, generators and lighting devices which are necessary to remove the rubble and do other rescue works, and restore buildings and roads. A group official said the equipment will soon arrive at the scene with the help of local dealers.
 
BYN Black Yak, an outdoor closing maker, provided 100 million won ($79,300) worth of down jackets and other winter clothes to Turkey through the Turkish Embassy in Seoul.
 
Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. donated $100,000 in disaster relief aid to Turkey through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the company said February 9. CEO Cho Yong-il extended condolences to bereaved families of the quake victims as well as hope for a speedy recovery and restoration of the quake-torn country.
 
Hana Financial Group offered $300,000 in emergency assistance to Community Chest of Korea and international rescue and relief organizations to support their humanitarian work in Turkey and Syria.
 
KB Financial Group plans to donate up to 300 million won after holding an online fund-raising campaign to help Turkish people struck by the seismic activity. Anyone can join the campaign through KB's online and mobile banking system between February 13 and 28.
 
Humanitarian efforts by corporations and banking groups are in line with the South Korean government's dispatch of a 118-member search and rescue team which has begun its mission to save people from debris since its arrival at an airport in Turkey's south-central province of Gaziantep on February 8.
 
The death toll from the quake in Turkey and Syria has reportedly surpassed 16,000 with more than 60,000 injured.
 
 
 
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