President Moon at the World Cooperative Congress: "Expecting the Spread of Cooperative Solidarity and Collaboration Values"

1-3 Days '33rd World Cooperative Congress' Held in Seoul

Hong Nam-ki "Leading Social Innovation through Social Economy"

President Moon Jae-in answering a question from a public panelist at the 2021 Dialogue with the People 'Back to Daily Life' held on the 21st of last month. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] President Moon Jae-in stated at the World Cooperative Congress, "I hope the values of solidarity and cooperation of cooperatives, which aim for the value of community, will spread widely."

President Moon made these remarks on the morning of the 1st at the opening ceremony of the 33rd World Cooperative Congress held at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. This congress commemorates the 125th anniversary of the founding of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the 25th anniversary of its identity declaration. It was held in Seoul for the second time in Asia since it was hosted in Japan in 1992. The opening ceremony was attended by over 200 overseas visitors and about 150 domestic cooperative representatives, including key figures from the government, international organizations, and social economy groups. President Moon, along with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party Yoon Ho-jung, and Chairman of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee Yoon Hoo-duk, visited the opening venue to encourage domestic and international cooperative representatives, including Ariel Guarco, ICA President.

In his congratulatory speech, President Moon said, "I welcome the hosting of the 33rd Congress in Seoul and hope that through this congress, the values of solidarity and cooperation of cooperatives, which aim for the value of community, will spread widely." He explained, "The Korean government supports social economy activation, including cooperatives, through finance and market access, and has established an integrated support system involving the private sector, local governments, and the government to create an ecosystem where the social economy can be self-sustaining." He added, "The social economy spreads hope in our society through the practice of coexistence and sharing, which cannot be expressed in numbers. We will continue to further grow the social economy."

Given the widening polarization due to COVID-19 and other factors, the government explained that this cooperative congress is especially meaningful as the 'people-centered' social economy, which expands inclusive support for vulnerable groups, is gaining attention. Accordingly, Deputy Prime Minister Hong presented "Achievements and Challenges of Korea's Social Economy" on behalf of the government. He summarized the current administration's social economy activation policies into three points: "establishing social economy governance," "creating an ecosystem including talent, finance, and public procurement," and "spreading the realization of social value to strengthen solidarity and cooperation." He proposed that the future should focus on 'PLUS,' which stands for People-centered economy, Local economic revitalization, Union strengthening for mutual development, and leading Social Innovation.

The government evaluated, "The 33rd Congress held in Seoul provided an opportunity to showcase the achievements of the current administration's social economy activation efforts to the world and raised awareness of Korea's social economy." It added, "It established a milestone to promote the growth of domestic cooperatives and the social economy while strengthening solidarity and cooperation with international cooperatives."

The congress will proceed over three days until the 3rd, starting with the opening ceremony, under the theme "Deepening the Identity of Cooperatives," through four plenary sessions and 20 concurrent sessions. Between each plenary and concurrent session, roundtable discussions based on the plenary session topics will be held. On the first day, after discussing Plenary Session 1, "Reviewing Our Cooperative Identity," five concurrent sessions will be held. On the morning of the second day, Plenary Session 2, "Strengthening Cooperative Identity," and five concurrent sessions will take place, followed by Plenary Session 3, "Devoting to Cooperative Identity," and five concurrent sessions in the afternoon. On the final day, the morning will feature Plenary Session 4, "Practicing Cooperative Identity," and five concurrent sessions, with the closing ceremony scheduled for the afternoon. Additionally, during the congress, a Cooperative Innovation Expo will be operated to exhibit the past, present, and future of the cooperative movement and sell products made by Korean cooperatives.

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