Yeongdeungpo-gu Wins Grand Prize as '2021 Outstanding Local Government for Social Enterprise Development' Hosted by Ministry of Employment and Labor

Achievement of Winning Best Award Twice Since the Establishment of the Social Economy Department in 2019... Strengthening Social Economy Growth and Expansion through Solidarity with Residents and Social Enterprises... Praised for Creating Local Jobs, Discovering and Managing Preliminary Social Enterprises, and Establishing Support Systems

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) received the Grand Prize in the '2021 Excellent Local Government for Social Enterprise Promotion' organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, earning high marks for fostering local social enterprises, supporting market access, and laying the groundwork for growth.

The 'Excellent Local Government for Social Enterprise Promotion' evaluation is organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Each year since 2017, local governments that have shown remarkable achievements in the development and revitalization of social enterprises over the year are selected and awarded. The program also facilitates sharing of best practices among local governments to promote social enterprises centered on local communities and to spread social values.

This year, evaluations were conducted in five areas: ▲ creation of local jobs and market support ▲ discovery and management of preliminary social enterprises ▲ establishment of social enterprise support systems and identification of best practices ▲ execution, settlement, and management of fraudulent claims ▲ establishment of talent development systems for revitalizing the social economy.

Accordingly, compared to 2019, the number of preliminary social enterprises increased by 78%, and the certification conversion rate?the ratio of certified enterprises to newly registered preliminary social enterprises?reached 75%, demonstrating high performance and receiving favorable reviews in the fields of job creation and discovery and fostering of preliminary social enterprises.

Additionally, the operation of its own social enterprise support system, including ▲ creation of COVID-19 hope jobs and ▲ establishment of public-private collaboration models to revitalize the local social economy, as well as efforts to spread social values linked to the local community, were highly evaluated.

Furthermore, through ▲ self-support for business development expenses of social economy enterprises within the region and ▲ the live social commerce platform ‘Social Pocket,’ Yeongdeungpo-gu discovered unique and highly promising social enterprises exclusive to the district, significantly contributing to administrative and financial support and sales growth.

Meanwhile, since the establishment of the Social Economy Division under the Future Vision Promotion Team in 2019, the number of social enterprises operating in Yeongdeungpo-gu has greatly increased from 43 (as of January 2019) to 86 (as of June 2021), demonstrating strong efforts in fostering and supporting social enterprises.

In particular, the district has actively promoted various policy projects based on the local community where residents and social enterprises coexist and prosper together, including ▲ the launch of Yeongdeungpo-gu’s social economy joint brand ‘Popogre’ (registered trademark in August 2020), ▲ fostering social venture teams addressing local issues, ▲ operation of job-creation resident technology schools, ▲ communal living in apartment complexes, ▲ creation of living commercial districts, and ▲ operation of the Yeongdeungpo Market Station social economy platform.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “Since establishing the ‘Social Economy Division’ within the district office in 2019, we have worked hard toward the vision goal of ‘Social Economy in Daily Life, Open Yeongdeungpo Realization’ to revitalize the social economy based on the local community.” He added, “We will continue to strive even harder to build greater social value through solidarity and cooperation with residents and social enterprises.”