I trust that you all had a great summer and that you were able to relax. Of course, credit goes to those colleagues who worked hard during the shutdown, while others redeemed their holidays. Although the last three months have allowed us more time off than at the beginning of the year and have given us the opportunity to relax again, there has been some serious and productive work going on within the walls of Hankook lately.
I would also like to thank you particularly for two of your selfless acts. Firstly, thanks to you, we were able to donate two new ECG machines to St Pantaleon Hospital, as more than 200 people took photos within the framework of our “Birthday Photo” project. The other was a smaller, but no less noble, initiative: in addition to the school supplies purchased by Hankook, your donations helped make it easier for children in need to start school. I am proud that our colleagues care so much about charity and are willing to help their fellow human beings whenever they can. Social responsibility is a pillar of our corporate culture and nothing is better proof of this than our ongoing Tire Donation Program, which is now in its tenth year; the Employee Volunteer Program, which is running thanks to your enthusiasm; and the Hankook Education Support Program, which will be re-launched this autumn.
But, after a relatively quiet summer, the last three months of the year may still have some surprises in store. We should expect that the fourth wave and virus variants could cause new cases of illness, so I urge you to be more vigilant in observing company health and safety rules. For those who have not got vaccinated and are able to do so, please do it, and most importantly, look after yourselves, look after each other.