Kia will push a corporate social responsibility program to improve food access in rural and fishing villages.
Kia said on the 5th that it held the "Kia Move to You launch ceremony" on the 3rd at the Uiseong Youth Center in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, with key officials in attendance, including Lee Deok-hyun, head of Kia's Sustainability Management Division, Kim Min-jae, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Hwang Myeong-seok, vice governor for administrative affairs of North Gyeongsang Province, and Choi Yu-cheol, Uiseong County governor.
"Move to You" is a new corporate social responsibility program by Kia aimed at improving the food desert problem faced by older adults in areas at risk of extinction amid the phenomenon of regional decline as the population concentrates in the capital region.
Earlier, in March, Kia signed a "win-win cooperation agreement to respond to regional extinction" with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Based on this, it officially launched "Move to You," a free food delivery service for areas at risk of extinction.
In Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, the first project area, Move to You is operated for people ages 65 and older. Food delivered by a purpose-built vehicle (PBV) to major hubs such as senior centers and village halls is purchased on-site.
Kia will deploy the PV5 Cargo model equipped with mobile refrigerators and freezers to support stable deliveries and plans to procure a variety of competitively priced foods through supply contracts with local grocery stores. In addition, it will run various events such as health exercises and educational programs in connection with the food delivery service.
Move to You will expand to Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province, in the second half of this year and will continue to increase the service areas going forward in line with demand and conditions.
Lee Deok-hyun, executive director and head of Kia's Sustainability Management Division, said, "Through the new corporate social responsibility program 'Move to You,' we aim to help address national tasks such as improving the problem of regional extinction and to fulfill the social responsibility of corporations by supporting improvements to living conditions for older adults," and added, "We will continue to pursue sincere social contribution activities going forward."