[THE INVESTOR] Amid public outrage sparked by a series of corporate scandals involving foreign companies in South Korea, a group of foreign multinationals convened Wednesday to discuss corporate social responsibility. 

“A slew of big sandals happened simultaneously and foreign companies are concerned with the animosity toward them,” Jeffrey Kim, head of the Foreign Investment Ombudsman said. “However, there are more than 17,000 foreign companies here contributing 20 percent of the country’s total exports and 6 percent of the employment in this country.”

Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, IKEA and Volkswagen have come under fire recently for faulty products.

Kim said the anger might wane after the scandals die down, but companies should continue to get involved with CSR activities.

“A smart company implements CSR activities related to their core business competence, which is more effective than being just a good company involved in donation and charity activities, which often have nothing to do their works,” Jung said during a forum on CSR, which was part of the Foreign Investment Week co-organized by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

Jung cited CSR practices by IBM Korea, Basf Korea and B. Braun as examples of CSR activities by “smart companies.” Tech giant IBM Korea, for instance, uses IT and consulting skills as part of their CSR activities.

Andre Nothomb, head of government and public affairs Solvay Asia-Pacific said on Wednesday the company will continue to devote themselves to their CSR efforts. The Belgium chemical company that came to South Korea in the 1970s runs various CSR programs, including emergency response drills and scholarships in order to grow together with Korean society, he said.

The 12th Foreign Investment Week opened Tuesday and is set to close Thursday in Seoul. This year, 337 investors from 291 companies are participating in hopes to seek local partners and opportunities to invest in the country.

By Park Ga-young/The Korea Herald (gypark@heraldcorp.com)