Mercedes-Benz Social Responsibility Committee donates 500 million won to support the establishment of a child protection agency

The Mercedes-Benz Social Contribution Committee held a donation ceremony on the 16th at the Mercedes-Benz Korea headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, to support the establishment of a specialised child protection agency in Dongducheon City. From the 1 billion won raised through the 13th ‘Mercedes-Benz GIVE ‘N RACE’, 500 million won was donated to Dongducheon City.

This support aims to strengthen the child abuse response system in the Dongducheon area and to establish a foundation for the protection of abused children and professional case management. Currently, the Gyeonggi Yangju Child Protection Agency operates jointly for both Yangju and Dongducheon, leading to ongoing calls for the separation of agencies to build a locally tailored response system and enhance swift case management.

The donation will be used to set up a specialised child protection agency in a vacant space owned by Dongducheon City, with the goal of opening in February 2027. The Dongducheon City Child Protection Agency will oversee the Dongducheon and Yeoncheon areas, providing integrated support from child abuse prevention to victim protection, counselling, and case management. The facility will include spaces for child counselling and protection, as well as psychological therapy, offering protection and case management services to abused children, their families, and perpetrators.

Attending the donation ceremony were Mercedes-Benz Social Contribution Committee members Lee Sang-guk and Lee Eun-jung, Dongducheon Deputy Mayor Heo Sun, and Song Yong-woo, head of the Future Strategy Division at the social welfare corporation ‘Children and Future Foundation’. Committee member Lee Sang-guk said, “It is very meaningful that the warm hearts of citizens gathered through GIVE ‘N RACE have led to the creation of a safe protection space for children in Dongducheon. I hope this support will provide a foundation for offering professional counselling and protection closer to abused children and their families, and will also practically help strengthen the local child abuse response system.”

The Mercedes-Benz Social Contribution Committee continues to support the construction of protection infrastructure for children and young people in local communities using donations raised through ‘GIVE ‘N RACE’, a citizen-participation running event that promotes a culture of giving.

Previously, 1 billion won from the 11th GIVE ‘N RACE was allocated—500 million won each—to establish the ‘Incheon Geomam Child Protection Agency’ in Incheon and the ‘Central Busan Child Protection Agency’ in Busan. Another 500 million won from the 12th GIVE ‘N RACE is being used to set up the Gwacheon City Child Protection Agency. This year, from the 13th GIVE ‘N RACE, 500 million won has been donated for the Dongducheon City Child Protection Agency, while the remaining 500 million won will support a project to create a dedicated youth activity space in Busan.

Meanwhile, since its first event in 2017, ‘Mercedes-Benz GIVE ‘N RACE’ has recorded approximately 165,000 cumulative participants and around 8.6 billion won in cumulative donations, establishing itself as a representative sharing campaign created jointly by the company and citizens.