(아주경제 신기림 기자) Benz Korea turned out to keep reducing the budget for corporate social responsibility (CSR) while the German auto giant took the first rank in the sales list of foreign imported cars.
According to Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Mercedez-Benz Korea last year saw nearly two-fold increase in revenue to 675.1 billion won from 363.4 billion won in 2005.
In contrast, the CSR contribution made by Benz Korea continued to decrease to 401.3 million won in 2008 and to 302 million won in 2009, after touching the highest of 523 million won in 2007 when the company decided to pull up the amount in response to public criticism over notoriously low charity with less than 10 million won.
Audi-Volkswagenwerk Korea last year spent 631.3 million won for donation though the company earned about 85 percent of Benz Korea sales.
Benz Korea explained that it had to decrease the amount of CSR contribution due to huge deficit in operating profits of Germany headquarters Daimler AG in 2008.
But, the company’s net profits for last year jumped by 260 percent from 2008 to 20.5 billion won, while its operating profits increased by 239 percent to 25.8 billion won. Over the same period the company`s revenues increased by 24 percent to 675.1 billion won.
Industry sources criticized that Benz Korea only sees the Korean market for short-term profits with no long-term perspective.
Contrary to Benz Korea, BMW Korea is well-known for its continuous efforts for CSR by paying contribution of 100 million won to 150 million won every year.
For instance, in July the company sent vehicles for research to 15 schools including Gyeonggi Automotive High School.
“We see the Korean imported car market grow by 20 percent and accordingly, BMW Korea conducts a variety of CSR campaigns from the long-term perspective,” a BMW-Korea official said.
kirimi99@ajnews.co.kr
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