South Korea’s Woori Financial Group said Wednesday that it was donating $100,000 to India to help the country win its battle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joining forces with the Community Chest of Korea, the financial conglomerate will offer the donation to the United Way, a nonprofit organization. The donation will be used to procure medical supplies, including oxygen ventilators, build temporary hospitals, and provide food and daily necessities for communities in India.

Woori Financial Group’s flagship business, Woori Bank, operates its regional headquarters in Mumbai and three branches across the nation. Amid a soaring number of cases the firm recently reduced working hours at its Indian offices to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and switched to partial remote working. It employs nine Korean employees and 33 local employees there.

“The spread of the COVID-19 in India is not only a national crisis, but a crisis of humanity, which is why we have decided to provide support to the nation with responsibility as a global financial group,” Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung said in a statement.

As of last week, India had reported 21.4 million COVID-19 infections and 234,000 deaths, according to the Indian health authorities. Experts say the death toll may be an underestimate.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)