From Upcycling to Supporting Career-Interrupted Artists... 72 Social Enterprises Newly Certified

Ministry of Employment to Hold the 2nd Social Enterprise Development Committee Meeting on the 11th
2,908 Social Enterprises Employing 56,354 People... Six out of Ten Are Vulnerable Groups
Local Governments Aim for 29,164 New Jobs Over the Next 5 Years

A material bank where various upcycled materials are exhibited and sold. Items range from waste wood to PVC pipes and snowboards. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#Social enterprise Ounyu creates and sells products made from leather scraps and other leather waste, and provides upcycling education on waste leather to middle and high school students and local governments. EcoPulp develops biodegradable materials from coffee grounds and other sources, supplying biodegradable paper pots instead of agricultural plastic pots, which are major contributors to environmental pollution.

#Art Blooms creates stable jobs for local artists with career interruptions through performance and cultural arts education projects. Bearded Coffee Playground operates coffee academies and other programs to provide jobs for vulnerable groups in the community.

The government has newly certified 72 organizations that create new local jobs as social enterprises. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 11th that it held the second Social Enterprise Promotion Committee meeting this year and certified these companies as social enterprises.

Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor

With this certification, 2,908 companies are now operating as social enterprises. These companies employ 56,354 workers. Vulnerable groups such as the elderly, disabled, and low-income individuals number 34,087, accounting for 60.5% of the total. Notably, 66% of all social enterprises are job-providing types. Job-providing enterprises primarily aim to provide jobs for vulnerable groups and make up more than 30% of the total.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Employment and Labor received the 3rd regional social enterprise support plans (2021?2025) from 17 metropolitan cities and provinces and reported the main contents to the expert committee. According to the Social Enterprise Promotion Act, since 2011, provincial governors must establish a five-year social enterprise support plan and submit it to the Minister of Employment and Labor. Through this plan, the regions aim to foster 2,579 social enterprises and create 29,164 new jobs over the next five years. If the goals are achieved, the number of social enterprises will increase from 5,068 to 7,647, and employment will rise from 64,341 to 93,505.

To achieve these goals, a total of 1.2948 trillion KRW combining national and local funds will be invested. Jeollabuk-do plans to focus on creating a social enterprise ecosystem, Chungcheongnam-do on discovering social enterprise models and supporting startup growth, and Seoul on raising awareness of the social economy and spreading social values. Several local governments, including Gyeongsangbuk-do, plan to establish comprehensive social economy support plans that include other central government or independent projects beyond the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s support programs.

Kim Young-jung, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "To overcome the difficulties caused by COVID-19 and provide practical support to social enterprises, we will promote the purchase of social enterprise products in cooperation with the national government, local governments, and public institutions, and strengthen the institutional foundation by additionally establishing growth support centers to enable sustainable growth in local communities."

Purchasing performance of social enterprise products is planned to increase from 1.6225 trillion KRW last year to 1.6742 trillion KRW this year. Two growth support centers will be established this year. Companies or organizations wishing to apply for social enterprise certification can receive counseling at integrated support institutions by region under metropolitan local governments or submit applications through the Social Enterprise Integrated Information System.

Status of Vulnerable Groups in Social Enterprises. (Data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor)