On October 30, representatives of the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine and the South Korean company SsangYong Engineering and Construction Co held a working meeting in Kyiv to establish a partnership in creating protective structures in kindergartens, schools, and hospitals.

Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, his deputies Serhiy Boyev and Tymur Tkachenko, and Head of the Department for the Coordination of the Maintenance of the Civil Defense Shelter Fund, Oleksandr Sanzhara, met with SsangYong's Senior Vice President, Sang Hee Woo, Deputy General Manager Yoo Jin Kim, Manager Ham Jang, and the Executive Director of CORE Response Ukraine, a charitable organization founded by American actor Sean Penn. The organization is funded by SsangYong.

SsangYong E&C is one of the largest construction companies in Asia, involved in various construction sectors such as buildings, roads, subways, railways, airports, harbors, dams, bridges, tunnels, and factories. The company has successfully completed 135 projects worldwide, with a total value of USD 9 billion, in 20 countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and India.

SsangYong and CORE plan to finance the construction and repair of seven social infrastructure facilities, including two kindergartens, two schools, repairs to a hospital in the Mykolaiv region, a lyceum in Mykolaiv, and a school in Kharkiv.

During the meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Strategic Industries, we discussed the construction of shelters at these facilities with our partners from SsangYong and CORE. All kindergartens, schools, and hospitals built or repaired with the financial support of the South Korean company will have protective structures, which will be built or equipped in accordance with the Iron Shelter concept and the recommendations outlined in the manual developed by the Ministry.

The next steps are expected to be taken in the first quarter of 2024.