Seongdong-gu Awarded Grand Prize as an Excellent Local Government for Social Enterprise Development

Social Venture Hub Center, Seongdong Impact Fund Support Efforts Bear Fruit... Jointly Selected as a 'Social Economy Friendly City'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) won the Grand Prize in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ‘2022 Excellent Local Government for Social Enterprise Promotion’ evaluation.

At the awards ceremony held on the 8th of this month at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center, Seongdong-gu received the Grand Prize, marking its fourth consecutive year of winning the honor.

The ‘2022 Excellent Local Government for Social Enterprise Promotion’ evaluation, hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, was established to share various excellent cases of social enterprise promotion. It selected a total of 13 institutions from 17 metropolitan cities and provinces and 228 city and county districts nationwide.

The evaluation covered performance from last year through April of this year, with a thorough review in five areas: job creation and market support, social enterprise conversion and management, social enterprise support systems, and excellent cases.

Seongdong-gu, which has recently emerged as a hot place attracting young people and companies, shows a continuous increase in social enterprises and social venture companies centered around the Seongsu-dong area, including knowledge industry centers and private shared offices.

This is evaluated to have resulted from the establishment of various support policies tailored to the characteristics of social enterprises and active business promotion.

Seongdong-gu operates the Social Economy Support Center and Social Venture Hub Center, supporting office spaces for early-stage companies, and spares no effort in social finance support such as the Social Economy Activation Fund and Seongdong Impact Fund. Through events like the Social Venture Expo and SoYoung’s Market, it supports the sales and market development of social economy products, actively implementing policies that meet the demands of companies, which is credited for the achievement of winning the Excellent Local Government for Social Enterprise Promotion award for four consecutive years.

Seongsu-dong, where companies selling products and services with social significance, growth support organizations assisting startups and management, and investment institutions come together to form an independent social innovation ecosystem, is already known as the nation’s largest ‘Social Venture Valley.’ The district plans to continue its unwavering efforts to support the growth and assistance of social economy organizations.

With the integration of the previously separately selected ‘Social Economy Friendly City’ until 2020, Seongdong-gu, which won the Grand Prize, was also selected as a ‘Social Economy Friendly City.’

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “The policies actively promoted by the district so far have laid the foundation for social enterprises and social ventures to leap forward. We will continue to be a strong partner supporting their growth and will not hesitate to cheer them on.”