Busan City and 9 Public Institutions, "One Heart, One Mind!" ... Supporting the Spread of Social Value Management for SMEs and Venture Companies

BEF Fund Business Agreement Signed at Busan International Finance Center at 10:30 AM on the 24th

Establishment and Operation of Economic Revitalization Support Fund, ESG Culture Promotion, Innovation Growth Support Projects

Policy Developmen

On the 24th at 10:30 AM, Busan City will hold a signing ceremony for the "Busan Economic Revitalization Support Fund (BEF, Busan ESG Fund, hereinafter referred to as BEF Fund)" at the auditorium on the 4th floor of the Busan International Finance Center. The agreement will be signed by Busan City and nine public institutions in Busan, including Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd. (President Lee Seung-woo).

At the signing ceremony, Lee Seong-gwon, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, along with heads and executives from nine public institutions including the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Busan Urban Corporation, Busan Port Authority, Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation, Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd. (secretariat), Korea Securities Depository, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Korea Ocean Business Corporation, will attend and directly sign the memorandum of understanding.

Also expected to attend are representatives from the Busan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, the trustee of the fund, and the Social Enterprise Research Institute.

This agreement was prepared by Busan City and the nine public institutions to efficiently support the creation of the Busan regional innovation growth ecosystem, economic revitalization, and the spread of social value management (ESG) culture among small and venture businesses through the establishment of the BEF Fund.

Busan City has been collaborating with the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Small and Medium Business Corporation to respond to the European Union (EU) supply chain due diligence and to strengthen the ESG response capabilities of local companies. This is the first local government initiative to promote a win-win cooperation model between ESG primary contractors and partner companies.

Additionally, Busan City is proactively responding to the spread of ESG culture by operating certification and nurturing programs for ESG-leading companies targeting venture and startup businesses.

Once this memorandum of understanding is signed, ▲the nine public institutions will establish and operate the BEF Fund, discover projects for creating and revitalizing the regional industrial innovation growth ecosystem, support the spread of ESG culture among small and venture businesses, promote ESG in social economy enterprises, provide management consulting, develop win-win models, and support acceleration and investment attraction.

▲Busan City will focus on policy development related to social value management support projects, establishing support models and administrative support, and discovering and promoting joint projects between Busan City and public institutions.

The BEF Fund to be established this year through this agreement will total 1.17 billion KRW and is planned to be continuously raised over the next five years. This fund will be primarily used for ▲providing ESG vouchers to small businesses, ▲accelerating ESG for startups in energy, environment, construction, marine, and port sectors, and ▲supporting innovative growth of social economy enterprises.

In particular, each of the nine institutions will actively utilize their infrastructure and expertise to spread ESG in the local community.

For professional project implementation, the Busan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation will be responsible for supporting the growth of small and venture businesses, while the Social Enterprise Research Institute will handle support for the innovative growth of social economy enterprises.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Lee Seong-gwon stated, “As ESG rapidly rises globally, I am grateful that the nine public institutions, which strongly support Busan’s economy, have come together to promote the spread of ESG culture and support local industries and businesses. I expect this agreement to have great significance for regional economic revitalization and win-win cooperation.” He added, “Through this agreement, we will actively collaborate to accelerate the spread of ESG culture and the creation of a self-sustaining ESG ecosystem centered on the private sector, and we will spare no effort in policy development and administrative support.”

Busan City Hall.

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