Lotte Duty Free opens cafe in Busan for baristas with developmental disabilities
From left to right: Lee Jong-min, Lotte Duty Free Busan store manager; Han Jeong-min, Busanjin-gu Welfare Center manager; and Kim Yeong-wook, Busanjin-gu chief at the cafe opening ceremony
Lotte Duty Free has opened a cafe on the eighth floor of its Busan branch, providing a stable workplace for six baristas with developmental disabilities.
According to a press release, "Lotte Duty Free rented the in-store cafe free of charge for the purpose of creating jobs and providing a workplace for people with disabilities to settle into society."
The company also donated KRW 20 million (US$15,610) to the Busan Jin-gu Welfare Center for the Disabled for barista education and training for young adults with developmental disabilities in commemoration of the opening of the cafe.
"The Center established a social enterprise, Onda Trading Co., Ltd., with family members and employees of the welfare center, and since 2017 has been operating a coffee and bakery specialty store for the independence of the disabled. The first store opened in 2022, and this time, the second store was opened in partnership with Lotte Duty Free Busan."
Lotte Duty Free Busan Store Manager Lee Jong-min said, "With the opening of the barista cafe for the disabled, Lotte Duty Free can help young people with disabilities become self-reliant and create jobs."
Meanwhile, Lotte Duty Free Shop is continuing various social contribution activities for the mutual growth of the Busan community.
"Through the ‘Starups’ project, Lotte Duty Free’s representative social contribution project, young businesses in Busan were selected in the 1st in 2019 and 3rd in 2021 and supported with business expenses and accelerating programs. In addition, the Busan branch of Lotte Duty Free Shop supports customized Happy Buses for the transportation disadvantaged and continues volunteer activities such as free meals, briquette sharing, and kimchi support for the vulnerable, such as the elderly living alone, together with executives and employees."
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