Government: "Social Enterprises Increased by 83% in 5 Years... Providing Opportunities for Employment-Vulnerable Groups"

Sharing Achievements of Korean Social Economy at the 33rd World Cooperative Congress
Government: "Talent Development and Market Support as Stepping Stones for Social Enterprise Growth"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has started "social economy sales" at the World Cooperative Congress, highlighting that Korea's social enterprises have increased by 83% over five years.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it shared the achievements of the social economy over the past five years at the '33rd World Cooperative Congress' hosted by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), held for three days from the 1st to the 3rd at the Walkerhill Convention Center in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. The ICA is an organization with 3 million cooperatives and members from 111 countries worldwide, and 320 institutions are registered as members. Korea is actively participating with members such as NongHyup, SuHyup, ShinHyup, Saemaeul Geumgo, the Korea Forest Cooperative Federation, and ICOOP Consumer Cooperative.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of social enterprises reached 3,142 this year, an increase of about 83% compared to 1,713 in 2016. Workers belonging to vulnerable employment groups such as the elderly, disabled, and women with career interruptions in social enterprises totaled 36,204, accounting for 59.2% of the total. The ministry explained, "Workers such as the elderly, disabled, and women with career interruptions working in social enterprises account for 60% of the total, and they are vulnerable groups facing difficulties entering the labor market," adding, "It has been confirmed that the social enterprise system is an important system providing work opportunities to vulnerable groups."

The ministry also reported that support for talent development and expansion of business channels was carried out simultaneously. The number of teams successfully starting businesses through the social entrepreneur fostering project increased significantly from 1,952 in six years from 2011 to 2016 to 2,837 in four years from 2017 to 2020. As of this year, 15 'Social Economy Leading Universities' operate regular degree programs.

As a result of reflecting the purchase performance of social economy products in the evaluations of quasi-governmental institutions, public enterprises, and local governments, the amount of preferential product purchases more than doubled from 740 billion won in 2016 to 1.62 trillion won last year. Following support for entry into private distribution channels, the average sales increased from 1.58 billion won in 2016 to 1.96 billion won last year, and offline joint stores increased from 57 stores (sales of 2.82 billion won) to 88 stores (8.58 billion won) during the same period.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor judged that it is necessary to reorganize the policy direction into a 'customized support system by growth stage' for social enterprises entering maturity. After conducting a survey for seven months from February to August next year on wage levels, satisfaction with support systems, worker status, produced products, distribution channels, and public awareness, the ministry plans to announce the '4th Basic Plan for Social Enterprise Development' to be applied from 2023 to 2027.