ESG within a management philosophy carried on for 127 years
Social-contribution activities that stir up a healthy wind in the world
Dong Wha Pharm, familiar to us for "Whal Myung Su," is a company with neither a dedicated ESG-management department nor a sustainability report. Yet it publishes quarterly business reports every year and shares the value of sustainable management while communicating with numerous stakeholders. Dong Wha Pharm's contribution to our society cannot but draw particular attention: first, it has a record of producing three independence activists during the Japanese colonial period, including its first president, Min Kang. Within Dong Wha Yak Bang, Dong Wha Pharm's predecessor, it also has a history of sparing no devotion for the nation and its people—establishing the "Seoul Yeontongbu," a secret administrative agency connecting the country's interior and abroad, and using the sales proceeds of Whal Myung Su as funds for the independence movement.
Dong Wha Pharm's Sustainable Management 1. ESG Hidden in Its Management Philosophy
Dong Wha Pharm's current management philosophy is: "Do not make it unless it is good medicine. Dong Wha belongs to the whole Dong Wha family, and also to this nation, so lead it as a company where the entire family gives its all and everyone can live well together." Using this philosophy—carried on since the time of the fifth president, Bodang Yoon Chang-sik—as a foundation, in April 2008 the late Chairman Yoon Kwang-yeol and his wife, Madam Kim Sun-nyeo, established the nonprofit foundation the "Buchaepyo Gasong Foundation." This is Dong Wha Pharm's representative social-contribution activity; through the foundation, Dong Wha Pharm established the "Yoon Kwang-yeol Medical Prize," the "Yoon Kwang-yeol Pharmacy Prize," and the "Yoon Kwang-yeol Dental Medical Service Prize," carrying out projects to support medical and pharmaceutical academic research and to provide scholarships to talented university students facing economic hardship.
[The 13th Yoon Kwang-yeol Medical Prize award ceremony ©Dong Wha Pharm Gasong Foundation]
It also actively carries out environmental-management activities. Centered on its Chungju plant, it is implementing the introduction of clean fire extinguishers as fire-suppression agents, reductions in production-waste discharge, and reductions in energy and greenhouse-gas use. As a result, it obtained good indicators in ESG evaluation as well, including quality management (ISO 9001) and environmental management (ISO 14001) in 2017 and safety and health management (ISO 45001) in 2018.
Dong Wha Pharm's Sustainable Management 2. Social Contribution for the Future
[Poster for the 8th Summer Saengsaek Exhibition, 2023 ©Dong Wha Pharm]
Dong Wha Pharm is also carrying out various social-contribution activities for cultivating talent in culture and the arts and for children, through the "Gasong Art Prize"—derived from its corporate logo, the "Buchaepyo" (folding-fan mark), and its company name, "Dong Wha"—as well as the "Summer Saengsaek Exhibition," the "Clear Wind Campaign," and the "Water That Saves Lives Campaign." The Gasong Art Prize was established in 2012 to newly define and support the meaning of traditional culture on the theme of the "jeopseon (folding fan)" and to cultivate talent in the visual-arts world. The jeopseon is one of Korea's traditional arts carried on since the Goryeo period, and Dong Wha Pharm unveils the Gasong Art Prize winning works each year through the Summer Saengsaek Exhibition.
The Clear Wind Campaign is a social-contribution activity that carries Dong Wha Pharm's wish to stir up a healthy wind in the world. Just like Dong Wha Pharm's wound-treatment product "Fucidin"—as famous as Whal Myung Su—so that children can pursue their dreams without wounds to body and mind, it has sponsored the "Hong Myung-bo Children's Soccer Class" since 2010 to promote youth sports in Korea. In addition, drawing on the meaning of Whal Myung Su—"water that saves lives"—it is carrying out the "Water That Saves Lives" campaign, which delivers clean water to children around the world whose lives are threatened because they cannot receive safe drinking water; it raises the campaign's support funds using the sales proceeds of Whal Myung Su.
Dong Wha Pharm's sustainable management may not stand out greatly compared with other companies. But Dong Wha Pharm has a rich 127-year history of devotion to a nation and its people. Let us keep an eye on the sustainable management activities of Dong Wha Pharm, which will continue its beautiful journey alongside society on the basis of the Dong Wha spirit that pursues a healthy and happy life.
by Editor L