Ministry of Employment and Labor Receives High Praise for Market Access Support and Social Culture Tourism Revitalization Policies
Employees from the social enterprise department of Gyeongbuk Province posing for a commemorative photo after receiving an award on the 2nd.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 5th that it received the 'Excellence Award' in the local government evaluation for fostering social enterprises at the Social Enterprise Day ceremony held on the 2nd at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju.
This selection came two years after winning the Grand Prize in 2017, the Encouragement Award in 2018, and the Excellence Award in 2019, making it the highest-rated metropolitan local government.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor selected the final awardees through a two-stage process: a first round of document screening and a second round of PT presentations, based on five evaluation criteria among 41 local governments that applied: ▲activation of social enterprises ▲discovery of social enterprises ▲job creation and market support ▲budget execution and settlement/fraud management ▲establishment of talent development systems.
In the final results, 12 institutions were awarded. The Grand Prize went to Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province; the Excellence Award was given to Gyeongbuk Province, Yeongdeungpo District in Seoul, Buk District in Gwangju, and Gongju City in Chungnam; and the Merit Award was given to Jeonbuk Province, Andong in Gyeongbuk, Seongdong District in Seoul, Yeonsu District in Incheon, Suwon in Gyeonggi, Wanju in Jeonbuk, and Changwon in Gyeongnam.
Gyeongbuk Province achieved total sales of 4.3 billion KRW through special COVID-19 response promotions via joint marketing with large corporations and post office shopping malls, and established 14 antenna shops for social economy products, generating annual sales of 500 million KRW.
Through the integrated marketing of the Gyeongbuk Social Enterprise General Trading Company, a sales channel specialized organization established by the first-ever capital investment from stakeholder organizations nationwide, it also achieved sales of 32.2 billion KRW.
By operating the social economy start-up and entrepreneurship school, eight start-up teams were selected and supported with up to 20 million KRW in start-up funds, and ten start-up leader teams were nurtured at the start-up academy. Additionally, four 10-10 clubs were fostered last year, resulting in a total of 55 companies joining the 10-10 clubs to date. The 10-10 club refers to social economy enterprises with annual sales exceeding 1 billion KRW and employment of 10 or more people.
Governor Cheol-woo Lee stated, "This award is the external recognition of the excellence of Gyeongbuk Province's social enterprise fostering policies," and added, "We will continue to do our best to lead Korea's social economy and open the Asian regional hub by providing segmented and customized support according to growth stages."
Meanwhile, as of the end of last year, the number of social enterprises in Gyeongbuk Province was 369, ranking third nationwide after Seoul and Gyeonggi. The total sales of the social economy amounted to 382.2 billion KRW. Furthermore, among the 9,544 total workers in the social economy within the province, the youth employment rate is 31.7%, and the employment rate of vulnerable groups reaches 46%.
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