Employees visit Yeoncheon-gun farm to help with autumn harvest; 40 boxes of apples purchased and donated to three welfare facilities in Seongdong-gu
Seoul Metro pledges to continue leading ESG management through community cooperation
Seoul Metro dispatched about 30 employees Friday to Wangjing-myeon in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, to help apple farmers struggling with labor shortages during the autumn harvest season. The company also purchased 2 million won ($1,480) worth of locally grown produce and donated it to three social welfare facilities in Seoul's Seongdong-gu.
The volunteers visited apple orchards in Yeoncheon-gun, pitching in with the harvest while talking with local farmers to learn firsthand about the difficulties facing rural communities.
Seung Seong-ho, a senior staff member who took part in the activity, said it was his first time picking apples. "It was more fun than I expected, and I felt a real sense of satisfaction every time I harvested a ripe apple," he said. "It was a meaningful experience to work up a sweat alongside colleagues and contribute, even in a small way, to the farm."
The activity was organized for farms that had requested support from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation due to difficulty securing workers during the busy farming season. Seoul Metro and the federation have now carried out rural volunteer work for three consecutive years — at a chive farm in Gwangmyeong in 2024, an eggplant farm in Paju in 2025, and this year's apple harvest in Yeoncheon-gun.
After the volunteer work, Seoul Metro purchased 40 boxes of apples worth 2 million won from the local farm to extend the spirit of sharing. Coordinated with Seongdong-gu's welfare policy division, the produce was delivered to three social welfare facilities — the Seoul Metropolitan 24-Hour Guest House, the Seongdong Hope Food Sharing Center and the Seoul Metropolitan Vision Training Center — to support homeless individuals, basic livelihood recipients and other vulnerable residents in the area.
Han Yeong-hui, head of Seoul Metro's planning division, said the initiative aimed to support farms hit by labor shortages driven by rural depopulation and rapid aging, while also stimulating the local economy and helping those in need. "We will continue to contribute to solving social problems through ongoing community service activities, and play a leading role in practicing ESG management through cooperation and coexistence with local communities," Han said.
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