Interior ministry hosts global social economy exchange in Seoul

The interior ministry said Thursday it hosted an international exchange session on building national social economy ecosystems in Seoul, drawing 39 senior figures from 15 countries alongside Minister Yoon Ho-jung.

The session, held Thursday afternoon at the Korea Higher Education Foundation in Seoul, was organized jointly with the SK Research Institute for Social Value and combined policy presentations with a moderated discussion. It formed part of the Social Enterprise World Forum, which selected Korea as its first host country and ran in Seoul from Oct. 12 to 15. The forum is a global network and international platform for the social enterprise field launched in Scotland in 2008.

Participants visited social economy sites in Korea and shared policy experience on law and institutions, finance, and the roles of the private and public sectors. Korea presented recent policy developments including the enactment of the Framework Act on the Social and Solidarity Economy, and took questions on carrying the policies forward.

Tom Arthur, Scotland's minister for business, introduced Scotland's policy direction on the social economy and presented on community wealth building. Yoon then took part in a discussion moderated by Gerry Higgins, chief executive of the Social Enterprise World Forum, alongside Arthur and Natalie Laechelt, a social economy policy specialist.

"This exchange was a good opportunity to share policy cases with people leading the social economy around the world and to make known our policy commitment to building a national social economy ecosystem, including the enactment of the framework act," Yoon said.

The interior ministry will continue to lead various international networks on the social economy together with the private sector, he added, so that Korea can establish itself as a country that leads the field.