Representatives from Hyundai Motor and its union deliver "H-Hope Dream" childbirth and parenting kits to families who have registered a newborn birth at the Yangjeong Community Service Center in Buk-gu, Ulsan. [Hyundai Motor]
Representatives from Hyundai Motor and its union deliver "H-Hope Dream" childbirth and parenting kits to families who have registered a newborn birth at the Yangjeong Community Service Center in Buk-gu, Ulsan. [Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor and its union have launched a corporate social responsibility initiative to support parents of newborns in Ulsan, providing "H-Hope Dream" childbirth and parenting kits to ease the burden of child-rearing and encourage the region's rising birth rate. Each kit is valued at 100,000 won ($67), double the amount offered last year, with 2,000 kits distributed at a total cost of 200 million won.

According to the Ministry of Statistics, Ulsan's total fertility rate in the first quarter of this year reached 1.08, up 0.13 from the same period last year. It is the first time the rate has recovered above 1.0 since the second quarter of 2021, when it stood at 1.01.

Starting Monday, Hyundai Motor and its union began distributing the kits through 55 community service centers across Ulsan to households that have registered a newborn birth. Each kit contains a functional swaddle blanket, a newborn hat, a thermometer and hygrometer, nail scissors, a pacifier, a mood light for nursing, and a vehicle infant-on-board sign.

By the end of this year, Hyundai Motor and its union plan to hold a draw among the 2,000 recipient households and award infant car seats to 20 winners, further reducing early child-rearing costs for newborn parents in Ulsan.

Hyundai Motor and its union launched the social contribution program in 2017 with the aim of granting wishes to children in the region. Last May, the initiative was rebranded "H-Hope Dream" and expanded its target age range from school-age children (ages 6 to 12) to all future generations — infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 5) and teenagers (ages 13 to 19). Now in its 10th year, the program's cumulative donations have reached 1.9 billion won.

"It is a small gesture to families welcoming a new life, but we hope it gives strength to those taking their first steps as parents," a Hyundai Motor official said. "We will continue to fulfill our social responsibility by contributing to solutions for the national challenge of low birth rates and helping Ulsan's future generations grow up healthy."


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