Labor ministry says Seongnam institutions choose 12 ESG projects

The labor ministry said Monday that a group of public institutions in Seongnam has selected 12 joint ESG projects for 2026, focused on community social contribution and local economic activity.

The Seongnam Public Institutions Council brings together nine bodies, including the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities. It was formed to pool the institutions' expertise and resources to address local problems and jointly realize social value. The institutions began their cooperation under an agreement signed in December 2020.

The projects include a Sept. 30 litter-collection walk along the Tancheon, involving seven members, and a program linking social-economy businesses and producers of goods made by people with severe disabilities to public institutions' priority purchasing programs. The council will also provide career and employment mentoring for university students volunteering at local study rooms through its Mentor's Mentor Vol. 3 program.

Governance projects include exchanges among public audit bodies, operation of an advisory body to prevent conflicts of interest and joint work related to anti-solicitation rules.

The employment agency will join 11 projects and lead the creation of an AI practitioner network. The network will share AI capabilities and know-how among institutions and work to improve beneficiary-centered services for people with disabilities and other socially vulnerable groups.

"By joining the council's projects, we will share the agency's expertise in employing people with disabilities with the community and create tangible changes on the ground through cooperation among institutions," Lee Jong-seong, the agency's chair, said.

Last year, the agency provided integrated employment consulting on hiring people with disabilities to six public institutions in Seongnam. It also plans to join the city-led ESG Roundtable this year, which brings together public and private participants.