A participant receives consultation at a social enterprise advisory booth held during the second Rural Economy and Social Services Expert Forum. [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]
A participant receives consultation at a social enterprise advisory booth held during the second Rural Economy and Social Services Expert Forum. [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

The government is moving to strengthen the social solidarity economy to fill gaps in rural care, education and other daily life services. The plan calls for spreading resident-led local service models linked to a rural basic income scheme.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it held the second Rural Economy and Social Services Expert Forum on Wednesday in Osong, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, under the theme "Revitalizing the Rural Social Solidarity Economy to Address Service Gaps."

About 80 people attended the forum, including social solidarity economy experts, social economy organizations active in rural communities and social enterprise officials, who discussed ways to expand rural services.

The ministry plans to coordinate with related ministries on policy to nurture social solidarity economy organizations and pursue measures to create synergies with key initiatives such as the rural basic income program.

Presentations at the forum covered community revitalization through the rural social solidarity economy, case studies of social solidarity economy organization development, and policy directions for the sector. A subsequent discussion examined how to build sustainable revenue structures in rural areas with limited service demand, as well as phased support measures linked to government policy.

An advisory booth at the venue guided service cooperatives, social farms and pre-certified social enterprises seeking official social enterprise designation on certification requirements and available support programs.

Jeon Han-young, director general of the ministry's Rural Policy Bureau, said the rural social solidarity economy "is the foundation for building a local ecosystem where residents solve community problems and jobs and social services reinforce each other." He added that the ministry would "continuously expand policy support so that rural care and daily life services can be supplemented through residents' solidarity and cooperation."


adastra@heraldcorp.com