Credit Union Holds "Social Finance Expert Training Course"

Co-hosted by the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency and the Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation to Enhance Expertise
Accelerating the Training of Social Finance Professionals as the Hub of the Cooperative Ecosystem

Participants who attended the 'Credit Union Social Finance Expert Training Course' held for three days and two nights from September 22 to 24 at the Credit Union Central Training Center located in Yuseong District, Daejeon, are taking a group photo. Credit Union Central Association

The Credit Union Central Association announced on September 26 that it held the "Credit Union Social Finance Expert Training Course" at the Credit Union Central Training Institute in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, for three days and two nights from September 22 to 24.

This training program was attended by 27 employees from 21 credit unions nationwide, along with 9 practitioners from social finance intermediary organizations. It was designed to cultivate social finance professionals so that credit unions, as financial cooperatives, can serve as hubs within the cooperative ecosystem. In particular, the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency and the Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation co-hosted the training, enhancing its expertise and adding significance as a platform for inter-organizational cooperation and communication.

On the first day, Son Seokjo, Head of the Social Finance Division at the Credit Union Central Association, opened the training by introducing the credit union’s achievements in advancing social finance, the operational direction of mutual cooperation loans, and the current state of networking with social economy organizations. Next, Oh Youngtaek, Team Leader at the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, delivered a session on "Understanding the Social Economy," covering the history, concepts, and necessity of the social economy, as well as the types of social economy enterprises in Korea. Nam Wonho, Director at the Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation, gave a lecture on "The Humanities of Social Finance," explaining the concept and characteristics of social finance and introducing major funding institutions nationwide.

In the final session of the day, Shin Youngmin, Director of the Value Startup Research Institute, served as an instructor, presenting analytical methods for business models beyond financial statements that reflect the characteristics of social economy organizations operating without collateral, and proposed diversifying the credit union’s corporate evaluation criteria.

On the second and third days, the training focused on strengthening practical skills, covering topics such as loan screening criteria for social economy enterprises and case studies of post-loan management. Kim Jonghun and Nam Wonho from the Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation, Hong Eunyeong from the Chuncheon Social Economy Support Center, and Moon Seongsik from the Jeju City Social Economy Support Center introduced their respective organizations’ social finance loan review processes, methods for calculating appropriate loan amounts, and cases of managing non-performing loans.

On the afternoon of the third day, practical lectures centered on case studies of loans by major business sectors were held. The Credit Union Central Association presented its support program for member loans to taxi cooperatives and shared a case of fostering strategic cooperatives to address the crisis of polarization. Danwon Credit Union introduced a case study and key considerations for facility loans to energy cooperatives, while the Korea Social Housing Association explained the concept and types of social housing and ways to collaborate with credit unions. The Dandelion Medical Welfare Social Cooperative shared the current status of medical welfare cooperatives, funding needs by business stage, and strategies for cooperation with credit unions.

Son Seokjo, Head of the Social Finance Division at the Credit Union Central Association, stated, "Through this jointly hosted training, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the essence and role of social finance in addressing social issues," adding, "The credit union will continue to actively participate in revitalizing the social solidarity economy and strive to create a financial ecosystem for a sustainable society."