Naver said on Thursday it donated $300,000 in relief funds to help Venezuela’s rapid recovery after it suffered heavy damage from a recent strong earthquake. The funds will be delivered through Naver’s online donation platform Happybean.

The funds raised through Happybean will be divided into $100,000 each and paid to three organisations: UNICEF, the UN refugee agency and the World Food Programme. The three organisations plan to use the funds to support recovery from an earthquake that occurred in Venezuela in June.

Naver has steadily participated in support efforts to overcome natural disasters and crisis situations at home and abroad, including earthquakes, heavy rain, wildfires and COVID-19. In July last year it donated 1 billion won to help restore areas damaged by torrential rain, and in March the same year it donated 1 billion won to help restore wildfire-hit areas in Gyeongsang and Ulsan. In 2023, it also donated $1 million to support recovery from the major earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Voluntary donations from ordinary users are also continuing on Happybean. As of the afternoon of July 9, about 50,000 participants were tallied as having donated a total of 540,000,000 won. To encourage more participation, Happybean plans to make additional donations by matching 10 beans per participating user, worth 1,000 won.

When an emergency disaster occurs, Naver is encouraging user participation by posting Happybean fundraising updates at the bottom of its search window and elsewhere. It plans to spread an online donation culture and increase fundraising effectiveness through this.