43 Companies and Groups to Aid Social Enterprises

Dozens of domestic companies and organizations yesterday announced plans to support social enterprises to create jobs for the needy.

This is part of the campaign “In Search of Hope: Jobs Save Our Economy” co-sponsored by The Dong-A Ilbo and the Labor Ministry.

At the SK Telecom building in central Seoul yesterday, 43 companies and organizations took part in a ceremony to support social enterprises hosted by Labor Minister Lee Young-hee.

The ceremony was held by the ministry and sponsored by The Dong-A Ilbo.

The companies represented included SK Telecom, SK Energy, Hyundai Motor, Kyobo Life Insurance, STX Pan Ocean, Korea Land Corp., POSCO, Korea National Oil Corp. and the Federation of Korean Industries.

With most social enterprises being small and facing difficulties, Lotte Shopping decided to sell their offerings at its department stores.

Woori Bank will provide management consulting service to help social enterprises improve sales and cut costs. It also plans to buy a large volume of caps from clothing maker Dongchun, which is also a social enterprise.

Citibank Korea, which has helped social enterprise Sooda Factory to establish its first store, will help the clothing manufacturer to set up its second store. CJ will create a separate business unit to support social enterprises under CJ Donors Camp.

State-run companies will also do their part. Korea Railroad plans to grant all contracts for printed materials and placards required by its Daejeon headquarters to Sungse Rehabilitation Center. Its 17 branches and three business units that repair railroad cars will contract social enterprises to handle similar work.

Kangwon Land Casino will set up a social enterprise for finding new and renewable energy sources with useless timber from an abandoned mine. Korea Gas Corp., Korea Expressway Corp., Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. and Workers Accident Medical Corp. will also buy products and services offered by social enterprises.

Professional associations are also willing to help social enterprises. The Korea Certified Public Labor Attorneys Association and the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants will participate in a “pro bono movement” to support managerial activities of social enterprises. The Visual Information Design Association of Korea will help in design and the Korea Internet Corporations Association will make homepages for them.

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions will encourage its branches to buy clothes from social enterprises.

Jisung Horizon Attorneys at Law, SeBit Accounting Corp., Hallim Labor Consulting, and Brand Move will also help out in the campaign.

After the ceremony, Social Enterprise Support Network, an organization which supports social enterprises, held a seminar on helping social enterprises and the role of pro bono.

abc@donga.com