Named outstanding institution for social enterprise cooperation, recognized for 15 years of partnership

Contributions span startup incubation, resource recycling and job creation

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon (left) presents the minister's award to Chae Woo-seok, head of management support at the National Pension Service, at the 2026 Social Enterprise Day ceremony at the Textile Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. The NPS was named an outstanding institution for social enterprise collaboration. [National Pension Service]
Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon (left) presents the minister's award to Chae Woo-seok, head of management support at the National Pension Service, at the 2026 Social Enterprise Day ceremony at the Textile Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. The NPS was named an outstanding institution for social enterprise collaboration. [National Pension Service]

The National Pension Service has received the Ministry of Employment and Labor minister's award for its contributions to promoting the social economy through collaboration with social enterprises.

The NPS said it received the award after being named an outstanding institution for social enterprise cooperation at the Social Enterprise Day ceremony held Tuesday at the Textile Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The award goes to institutions that have achieved strong results in helping social enterprises expand their markets and grow sales. The NPS earned recognition for cooperative projects it has pursued over the past 15 years to promote the social economy, with particularly strong marks in three areas: startup incubation, resource recycling and mutual cooperation.

Among the flagship initiatives is the "K-Innovation Project," carried out in partnership with Startfolio — the NPS's first in-house venture spinoff and a startup growth strategy consultancy. The project supports startups with ideas for solving social problems as they seek to enter public-sector markets, through collaboration among government, industry and academia. The NPS has been working with Startfolio on the initiative since 2024.

In the resource recycling area, the NPS signed an MOU last year with social enterprise Canaan Labor Welfare Center and has since donated spent toner cartridges from its branches and headquarters nationwide to support their remanufacturing and resale. The initiative has also helped create jobs for people with disabilities and expand environmentally friendly employment.

On the mutual cooperation front, the NPS operates "NPS Café 36.5°," providing free use of the space and management consulting to help immigrant women secure stable employment. It is also running a "village self-governance pension" program that supplies solar energy facilities and other support to community enterprises, with the resulting revenue distributed to elderly residents as a pension.

Beyond these programs, the NPS holds a monthly "Yeongnine Jangter" market, opening its facilities to local businesses and supporting the sale of regional agricultural and specialty products, further expanding its cooperative ties with social enterprises.

NPS President Kim Seong-ju said the organization would "continue to practice responsible management that spreads the value of mutual growth through cooperation with social enterprises and contributes to regional development."


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