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Ecosystem Leadership Exchange | From Seoul to the world: what Korea taught us about building a social economy ecosystem.
“Ask lots of questions to learn from Korea and share solutions with each other.” Tae-won Chey, Chairman of SK Group and CSES
What happens when you build a social enterprise ecosystem by design? Most countries have no national framework for social enterprise. Korea’s social economy is being built deliberately across government, finance, the private sector and civil society. It is still a work in progress, but it offers a blueprint other countries can already learn from. That is why Seoul hosted the first SEWF Ecosystem Leadership Exchange from 11 to 15 October 2026, organised by SEWF, SK Group, Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies (CSES) with the Association of Korean Local Governments for Social Economy and Solidarity (SSEGOV), Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and Merry Year Social Company (MYSC). The event brought 35 ecosystem leaders from 18 countries to learn from the Korean example.
The timing was striking. Korea’s Framework Act on Social and Solidarity Economy, more than a decade in the making, was enacted on 20 August 2026. Participants arrived as the country moved from passing the law to developing plans to make it work.
A law is just the beginning
“The passing of the SSE [social solidarity economy] framework after 13 years is an historic achievement (…) I see this as a new beginning. Our real work starts now (…)
The new law could lead to greater local participation, cooperation and it could create opportunities for more citizen-led initiatives.” – Kim Young-bae, Member of the National Assembly & President, Social Innovation Forum of the National Assembly of Korea
The Social Solidarity Economy Framework Act took over a decade of advocacy, drafting and coalition-building and the passing of the law is a significant next step for the sector in Korea.
It matters because it creates infrastructure, not just recognition: national committees, dedicated finance and intermediary support that outlast any single government. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), Korea’s lead ministry for the social and solidarity economy is now coordinating a more integrated national approach to the sector.
Participants were able to learn about the Act in detail from those who brought it into being and are now putting it into practice. During the final afternoon, participants heard from Hojung Yun, Minister of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) who was responsible for the Framework being enacted. He was followed by Lee Bang-moo, Director General, Social and Solidarity Economy Bureau, MOIS, who presented on the SSE framework and its comprehensive plan, including creating regional innovation ecosystems.
The role of regional ecosystems and local government also featured earlier in the week when participants gained insight on local innovation and the role of local government in supporting the development of the local social economy ecosystem including through place-making, community wealth building, social finance, intermediary support and access to markets. Participants heard from Young-sik Kim (Executive Director of the Association of Korean Local Governments for Social Economy and Solidarity (SSE Gov)), Ryoo Bo-hwa (Mayor of Seonghdong-gu) and Jin-young Park (Director of the Daegu Social Economy Support Center).
“Malaysia is in the midst of building a study on the need for a legal framework for the third sector so I found the day very interesting as we can explore how to apply it to our context and possibly get input from Korea for us to develop it.” – June Suhaila Saran, Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development KUSKOP (Malaysia)
What you water grows
“Relying on altruism alone cannot generate the scale needed to address growing social problems. A sophisticated, performance-based incentive system is essential to encourage voluntary participation.” – Tae-won Chey, Chairman of SK Group and CSES
If an ecosystem wants more social impact, it has to reward it. That idea sits behind the Social Progress Credit (SPC), the payment-by-outcomes model co-developed and operated by CSES and SK Group. Since 2015 it has paid USD 52 million in cash incentives to more than 400 social enterprises, rewarding over USD 360 million in verified social value. It remains the world’s first privately-led programme of its kind.
The point is not the size of the fund but what it changes. Each year, CSES measures the social value participating enterprises create across four areas (products and services, employment, value chain and environment) and converts it into a monetary figure. Enterprises then receive unrestricted cash incentives in proportion to those results. Research using SPC data has found that participating firms became more motivated to create social value and that incentive payments were linked to higher sales and profits.
The enterprise visits showed what that looks like in practice. AIWORKX started in 2015 by training autistic talent and created a new occupation, the “Data Manager”. It now leads Korea’s public-interest AI work, from Korean Sign Language datasets to walking-route data for blind and low-vision people. Dot Inc. built the world’s first tactile graphics display, the Dot Pad and now designs accessible kiosks for public services, including transport and museums. Both have turned social outcomes into products and services that governments and companies pay for.
“SPC has been a pacemaker for AIWORKX. By measuring and rewarding the social value we create in economic terms, SPC has enabled us to keep moving forward without giving up, while reaffirming the sustainability of our work.” – Dale (Sukwon) Yoon, CEO, AIWORKX
“Korea’s Social Progress Credits encourage us to rethink the way we support social enterprises. They raise important questions about how we value social impact and translate that value into tangible support. It’s particularly exciting to see an idea start in the corporate sector and then gain traction with government. For other countries, the opportunity isn’t to replicate Korea’s model, but to learn from its experience and consider what might work in their own context.” – Luke Terry, White Box Enterprises (Australia)
Corporates as long-term partners, not one-off funders
In some ecosystems, corporate partnerships involve one-off grants, sponsorships, volunteer programmes and/or pro bono support. In Korea, the strongest corporate actors are committed to social enterprises as part of their long-term strategy.
“We need to be a pioneering foundation and an entrepreneurial foundation to help social enterprises, working with them as they are the ones creating change for our society.” – John Choi, Secretary General, Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation
The Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation has backed impact ventures through its H-OnDream Startup Ground programme for over a decade. In March 2026 it went further, launching the Global ImpactPreneur accelerator with the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre to scale entrepreneurs across Asia-Pacific.
“Governments often need proof to make change and since they [Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation] are first movers, they provide many opportunities to entrepreneurs and policymakers which provides the proof that the government needs…[to push] social change in Korea.” – Jongkyu Kim, CEO, 60 Hertz
Secretary General John Choi believes: “For foundations like ours, the role is clear. We need to provide patient, risk-tolerant capital and catalytic capital that bridges policy cycles and supports the social enterprise ecosystem.”
Partnerships also need brokers. In the afternoon, participants visited Merry Year Social Company (MYSC), Korea’s leading social innovation consultancy and impact investor. MYSC CEO Jeongtae Kim believes “The problem is not a shortage of capital. It is the disconnection between capitals, the absence of designed linkage.”
MYSC structured Asia’s first social impact bond in Seoul and now manages over KRW 65 billion across impact funds and a portfolio of 160+ ventures. Its role shows that intermediaries, fluent in the language of business, investors, corporate business, government and founders alike and willing to take risk, can result in blended finance that can be game-changing for social enterprises.
Participants heard from MYSC partners including Gyeongbuk Community Foundation where President Janghan Woo shared three things that they have learnt:
“one – collaborative governance can replace silos; two – a local builder can replace outsourcing; and three – blended finance and local procurement keep money in the region.”
Public money that supports innovation and builds markets
KOICA, Korea’s development cooperation agency, stands out globally for routing development finance to social enterprises and impact ventures, through instruments such as its Inclusive Business Solution, Creative Technology Solution and Innovative Partnership Programme.
Unlike many countries distributing Overseas Development Aid (ODA), KOICA reminded participants that South Korea is a rare example of a country that had been the recipient of foreign aid for decades that is now a partner working to leave no one behind through inclusive development. KOICA’s work focuses around five pillars: people, peace, prosperity, planet, partnership.
Participants heard from Jungmee Sohn, Vice President for Global Solidarity and Partnerships, KOICA who was followed by Mi Park, Director of KOICA’s CTS (Creative Technology Solution) who shared more detail on the CTS programme and suggested ways for future cross-border collaboration between KOICA, SEWF and other participants.
Enterprises TagHive and 60 Hertz, recipients of KOICA support, shared more about their businesses and the catalytic role KOICA played in their development.
“If KOICA was not there, we would not have achieved as much as we have achieved so soon.” – Pankaj Agarwal, Founder and CEO, TagHive
Learning across borders and what comes next
“Korea’s social economy did not develop from those traditions alone. We have reached where we are today by learning from valuable models created through bold efforts in countries around the world.” – Choi Hyuk-jin, Member of the National Assembly & Steering Committee Chair, National Conference on Social and Solidarity Economy
The inaugural Ecosystem Leadership Exchange was built on the belief that deep learning, exchange and systems change can come from ecosystem leaders learning from visiting another country’s ecosystem together.
Its real measure will be what happens next. Participants shared their reflections and commitments for how they will take what they’ve learned back to their organisations and countries. In the Ecosystem Leadership Exchange report, these will be shared and SEWF will continue to track progress and measure long-term impact.
“Social enterprise grows strongest when we learn from each other, but good practice rarely travels well as a headline or a case study. What makes a policy, a finance model or a support system work in one place is the ecosystem around it: the relationships, the institutions, the culture and the politics. That’s why the Exchange matters. By going deep, spending real time with the people who built and run these systems, participants understand not just what works but why it works. That depth is what makes transfer possible. The next step is the most important one: taking that learning home and adapting it to the realities of their own cities, regions and national economies. That’s how innovation moves across the movement and how we build stronger social enterprise ecosystems everywhere.” – Gerry Higgins, Founder and Managing Director, Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF)
Next stop: Scotland
During his speech, Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Business and Fair Work, announced that the 2028 Ecosystem Leadership Exchange will be hosted in Scotland.
Thank you
The first SEWF Ecosystem Leadership Exchange would not have been possible without the participants, our partners, hosts and the social enterprises who opened their doors. Thank you for sharing your experience so generously and for helping shape what we hope will become a lasting part of the SEWF calendar.
Research and design partner: SK Group, Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies (CSES)
Co-hosts: Association of Korean Local Governments for Social Economy and Solidarity (SSEGOV), Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), Merry Year Social Company (MYSC).
