Employees at Hankook & Company Group's disability-standard workplace sort items at the facility. The workplace recently marked its 10th anniversary. [Hankook & Company Group]
Employees at Hankook & Company Group's disability-standard workplace sort items at the facility. The workplace recently marked its 10th anniversary. [Hankook & Company Group]

South Korea's disability employment agency and its social enterprise promotion body have agreed to work together to expand public procurement channels for disability-standard workplaces and social enterprises and to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency on Tuesday at the promotion agency's main conference room. The MOU aims to strengthen the growth foundation of disability-standard workplaces and social enterprises while expanding the creation of social value.

Under the agreement, the two agencies will link "Gachi Ilteo," a product promotion platform for disability-standard workplaces, with "Gachi Jangter," a sales platform for social enterprises, to boost public procurement. They also plan to support social enterprise certification education for standard workplaces to broaden disability employment, build regionally based infrastructure to strengthen the priority-purchase regime, and jointly develop new market channels.

The disability employment agency expects the partnership to simultaneously secure stable sales channels for disability-standard workplaces and expand job opportunities for people with disabilities. Social enterprises are also expected to sharpen their competitiveness in the public procurement market and reinforce their foundation for delivering social value.

"Disability-standard workplaces are a core foundation for providing people with disabilities with stable jobs and supporting their economic independence," said Lee Jong-seong, chairman of the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities. "We will actively support efforts to widen sales channels through an integrated platform and deliver results in expanding disability employment."

Jung Seung-guk, president of the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, said the MOU would create a foundation for social enterprises and standard workplaces to grow together. "We will make active use of Gachi Ilteo and Gachi Jangter to promote priority purchasing and continue our cooperation to expand employment for people with disabilities," he said.


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