Urgent Call for the Prompt Enactment of the Basic Act on Social Economy and the Basic Act on Social Value

National Council of Social Solidarity Economy Local Governments to Hold Press Conference on the 21st at the National Assembly Communication Hall Urging Enactment of the Basic Act on Social Economy and the Basic Act on Social Value Within the Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] On the 21st, the heads of member local governments of the National Social Solidarity Economy Local Government Council held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, urging the passage of the "Basic Act on Social Economy (draft)" currently referred to the National Assembly Agenda Adjustment Committee within this year, along with the enactment within this year of the "Basic Act on the Realization of Social Value by Public Institutions (draft)" which was proposed in the 21st National Assembly.

At the press conference, members of the National Social Solidarity Economy Local Government Council, including Moon Seok-jin, Chairman of the Council and Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Kim Soo-young, Senior Vice Chairman of the Council and Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, and Seo Cheol-mo, Chairman of the Council and Mayor of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, participated. Also present were Min Hyung-bae, Member of the National Assembly and Chair of the Democratic Party’s Social Economy Committee, and Kim Young-bae, Member of the National Assembly and Head of the Legislative Promotion Team of the Democratic Party’s Social Economy Committee.

Starting with supportive remarks from Min Hyung-bae, Chair of the Social Economy Committee, and Kim Young-bae, Head of the Legislative Promotion Team, the local government heads emphasized, “Local governments have focused on revitalizing the social economy for residents, but institutional foundations are necessary,” and stressed, “The enactment of the Basic Act on Social Economy and the Basic Act on Social Value within this year is urgent.”

At the press conference, the local government heads pointed out that despite the "Basic Act on Social Economy" and the "Basic Act on Social Value" being representative livelihood bills, they have been repeatedly stalled and discarded in the National Assembly for eight years. They emphasized, “The activation of the social economy is a goal that transcends party lines, conservative and progressive, and since the 19th National Assembly, nearly 142 members have proposed the bill.”

Through a statement released at the press conference, these heads called for ▲ the prompt holding of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee Agenda Adjustment Committee and plenary sessions to process the Basic Act on Social Economy and the Basic Act on Social Value within this year ▲ and urged the passage of both laws within 2021.

The revitalization of the social economy has been one of the 100 major national tasks selected by the Moon Jae-in administration in 2017, serving as an alternative and strategy to solve various problems scattered in local communities and to promote coexistence and cooperation within regional communities. Many local governments are actively implementing this.

Globally, the activation of the social economy has recently gained more attention. Major international organizations such as the UN and OECD have adopted social economy as a sustainable development strategy and recovery strategy for future societies, discussing and establishing activation plans. On December 9th, the European Commission also announced the ‘Social Economy Action Plan,’ continuing this trend. As ESG management, which values economic activities oriented toward social values like the social economy, becomes a hot topic, ‘social economy activation’ is expected to be a focus for countries worldwide.

The Basic Act on Social Economy and the Basic Act on Social Value have been repeatedly proposed and discarded in the National Assembly for eight years since 2014, but local governments and the social economy field expect their passage in the 21st National Assembly. At the 33rd World Cooperative Congress held by the International Cooperative Alliance in early December, then-President Moon Jae-in also mentioned the prompt passage of the three social economy laws in the National Assembly.

The National Social Solidarity Economy Local Government Council, which held the press conference, is an administrative council formed in 2013 to revitalize the social economy in domestic regions. It promotes various projects for local social economy activation, including social economy policy development and institutional improvement, discovering and supporting excellent local social economy enterprises, and providing innovative social economy public services through public-private cooperation. Currently, Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, serves as chairman, and 49 basic local governments nationwide participate as members.

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