Seongdong-gu Achieves Triple Crown in 2020 Social Economy Government Evaluation

Achieved Triple Crown in 2020 Government Evaluation Including Social Economy Sector Award in Welfare Administration...Top-Level Social Enterprise Discovery and Support through Social Economy Activation Fund...Diverse Initiatives Including Social Economy Enterprise Welfare Projects, Social Economy Preliminary Special Zone Projects, and Social Venture Valley Establishment

Seongdong-gu won the grand prize in the Social Economy Activation category of the 2020 Welfare Administration Awards and achieved a triple crown in this year's Social Economy Government Evaluation.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) achieved a triple crown in the 2020 government evaluation of social economy, establishing the highest status in the field of social economy.

The district received ▲“Excellent” in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s social economy policy evaluation ▲“Excellence Award” for two consecutive years as an outstanding local government in fostering social enterprises ▲“Grand Prize” in the social economy activation category of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s regional welfare project evaluation, sweeping major social economy evaluations and gaining recognition for its efforts.

In particular, in the Welfare Administration Award, which selects outstanding local governments for regional welfare project promotion among nationwide metropolitan and basic local governments, the district’s ICT-based AI care service and online learning support project for vulnerable children received excellent evaluations, standing out as the number one nationwide.

Seongdong-gu has promoted various policies for “Social Economy City Seongdong-gu” under the slogan of the 7th elected term, “Smart Inclusive City,” united by social values for shared prosperity.

Through the operation of a social economy activation fund linked with social financial institutions, it solved management fund issues for social enterprises that have difficulty accessing financial sectors, and focused on market expansion by supporting social enterprises’ market development and developing collaborative products and services among social enterprises.

A district official said, “In 2019 alone, the district discovered 25 new preliminary social enterprises and provided about 1.4 billion won in financial support to 67 enterprises, receiving positive responses in various evaluations for having the most financial support and discovering the most social enterprises among autonomous districts.”

Beyond financial support projects, the district has played a major role in the quantitative and qualitative growth of social enterprises by establishing ordinances for Social Impact Bond (SIB) operation, preliminary special zone projects for social economy, building a Social Venture Valley, and running a Fair Trade Academy to create a social economy ecosystem.

Also, by forming a care SOS governance with social enterprises and public-private sectors, the district has provided care services to elderly and disabled people in need of care, and has continuously worked to provide jobs and social services for vulnerable groups through discovering and fostering social enterprises suited to regional characteristics.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Although everyone is facing difficulties due to COVID-19, I believe the social economy sector shines even more in such times,” adding, “We see social economy, which leads the resolution of community problems and realizes social values, as the driving force for economic growth after COVID-19, and Seongdong-gu will spare no effort to support their growth.”

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