Shinsegae Department Store Awarded Fair Trade Commission Commendation as an Excellent Win-Win Company

Award for Excellence in Supporting Market Access and Reducing Wage Gaps for Outstanding SMEs
Shinsegae Department Store Leads Win-Win Activities with 'Fermentation:Gokgan' Promoting Excellent SME K-Food

(From the left) Jo Seong-wook, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, and Kim Seon-jin, Executive Director of Shinsegae Department Store, are taking a commemorative photo after the awards ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Shinsegae Department Store has been selected as an excellent win-win company by the Fair Trade Commission.

On the 24th, Shinsegae announced that it received the Fair Trade Commission Chairman's Commendation at the Small and Medium Business Online and Offline Distribution Win-Win Conference hosted by the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Korea Department Store Association, and the Korea Online Shopping Association. This award, given by the Fair Trade Commission, recognizes Shinsegae's contributions to win-win activities between large and small-medium enterprises. Shinsegae plans to take a leading role in excellent win-win companies by addressing wage gaps and improving productivity in the future.

Previously, Shinsegae received an excellent grade for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020 in the Win-Win Growth Index Evaluation, which assesses large corporations' efforts for mutual growth. The results for last year will be announced in the second half of this year. In November 2020, Shinsegae was also awarded the Presidential Award in the Large and Small-Medium Enterprise Win-Win Cooperation Fund (organization) category for its exemplary management of the fund, contributing to national economic development.

Shinsegae is also committed to various win-win management activities to strengthen the management capabilities, education, and market expansion of small and medium enterprises. In December last year, Shinsegae signed a 'Innovation-Driven Wage Gap Resolution Agreement' (MOU) with the Win-Win Growth Committee and about 2,000 partner companies to resolve wage gaps, announcing a plan to operate a partner company win-win cooperation program supporting 26.3 billion KRW over three years. Through the establishment of a win-win fund and operation of the 'Win-Win Growth Academy' for improving job skills, Shinsegae contributes to financial support for partner companies and enhancement of production capabilities of partner company employees.

In the basement level 1 of Daejeon Shinsegae Art & Science, Shinsegae introduced 'Fermentation: Gotgan,' a store showcasing traditional food culture such as Jongga's Naerimjang, master side dishes, and specialty food products. Fermentation: Gotgan is a store planned by Shinsegae to inform customers about precious fermented foods made directly by nationally designated masters preserving and inheriting traditional Korean methods and famous food producers from various regions. To promote traditional Korean food to more customers, Shinsegae participated in designing the logo, product design, and packaging of Fermentation: Gotgan. All containers and labels of traditional fermented foods sold within Fermentation: Gotgan were stylishly designed to enhance quality, and the development of eco-friendly packaging using FSC-certified paper and soy ink printing was also supported.

Shinsegae is also dedicated to discovering and nurturing excellent small and medium enterprises' products and young farmers. Since July 2013, Shinsegae has been operating the 'Shinsegae Farmers Market' to support young farmers. The Shinsegae Farmers Market is a youth farmer support project now in its ninth year, where young farmers from across the country participate annually to directly introduce their products to department store consumers.

In 2019, Shinsegae also held the 'Excellent Small and Medium Enterprises Exhibition' for small and medium enterprises. The exhibition is a regular event planned by Shinsegae Department Store buyers and the Korea Federation of SMEs, recognized for selecting excellent small and medium enterprise products and helping expand their market channels.

Son Young-sik, CEO of Shinsegae Department Store, said, "We are presenting various win-win activities for mutual growth with partner companies," adding, "We will take the lead in win-win management through support benefits to strengthen partner companies' competitiveness, expand market channels, and resolve wage gaps."

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