Jeonbuk Province Takes Initiative to Revitalize Social Economy Led by Private Sector

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 3rd that this year it will support the establishment of intermediate support organizations in social economy cities and counties and foster young innovators, thereby promoting a regional-based, private-sector-centered activation of the social economy.

Accordingly, the public-private governance cooperation system for the social economy in Jeonbuk is expected to become more solid, with an expanded talent pool and market channels, accelerating the development of the social economy.

Jeonbuk Province, which took proactive steps such as establishing the Social Economy Division in January last year, plans to expand core infrastructure to create a social economy ecosystem in line with the government's 2020 economic policy direction.

To activate the social economy based on the region and led by the private sector, Jeonbuk Province plans to pilot the establishment of intermediate support organizations in cities and counties that act as bridges between enterprises and administration, selecting five locations through a public contest.

Additionally, Jeonbuk will develop a Jeonbuk-type social value index to help social economy enterprises objectively gain recognition for their social value, improving access to finance and strengthening self-sustainability through support.

To promote private-led social economy activation, the public-private network cooperation system will be further solidified by expanding the operation of five subcommittees, a working committee, and the Social Economy Committee to practice cooperation and solidarity through policy proposal feedback and business direction consultations. A new "Jeollabuk-do Social Economy Administrative Council," chaired by the Deputy Governor for Political Affairs and including social economy-related department heads as members, will be established to break down departmental barriers and maximize synergy through collaboration.

For workforce development and education in the social economy sector, support for village enterprise managers will be expanded (from 22 to 25 people), and 227 young social economy innovators will be trained and placed in social economy workplaces. Continuous nurturing of social entrepreneurs (about 40 teams, one-year education) will encourage entry into preliminary social enterprises and promote employment and entrepreneurship.

To support the growth of social economy enterprises, infrastructure support such as facilities and equipment will continue for social enterprises and village enterprises, along with ongoing support for village enterprise advancement projects. New support for product design development will be provided in cooperation with the Jeonbuk Design Center, and about four social economy growth companies will be selected and supported to foster representative social economy enterprises in Jeonbuk.

Furthermore, this year, to establish a social economy foundation tailored to the characteristics and conditions of cities and counties, the number of city and county regional specialized projects will be expanded to five (up from four last year).

To expand sales of social economy enterprise products, the Jeonbuk Social Economy Public Procurement Support Group will be established and operated. Efforts will be actively made to expand public procurement, focusing on public institutions relocated to innovation cities, through promotional activities and fairs to achieve the mandatory public procurement rate (5%).

For promoting private consumption, sales markets linked to local festivals will be actively operated, and entry sales in the post office online shopping mall will also be expanded.

In addition, the social economy sector will be expanded through the establishment of a Jeonbuk-type sharing economy platform to restore and revitalize local communities, the creation of sharing economy pilot villages, and the operation of the Jeonbuk Fair Trade Living Lab to promote ethical consumption.

Na Seok-hoon, Head of the Job Economy Headquarters, said, “As we welcome the new year of Gyeongja (庚子年), we will continuously advance with cooperation, solidarity, and a spirit of self-reliance, and the administration will play a solid supporting role for a private-sector-centered social economy to revitalize Jeonbuk’s economy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.