Lee Jong-seong, chairman of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled [Yonhap]
Lee Jong-seong, chairman of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled [Yonhap]

Nine public institutions based in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, are joining forces on community social contribution activities — including support for people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, and expanding market access for local businesses.

The Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled announced Monday that the Seongnam Public Institution Council, a body of nine agencies in the city, will pursue 12 joint ESG projects this year. This year's joint activities focus on community-centered social contribution and local economic revitalization.

Member institutions include the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority, the Korea Foundation of Nuclear Safety, Korea District Heating, Korea Job World and the Academy of Korean Studies.

The council launched in December 2020 when the nine institutions signed an MOU for mutual cooperation. It has since combined each agency's expertise and resources to address local challenges and create social value, pursuing initiatives in local economic revitalization, job creation and social contribution.

On the environmental front, seven member institutions will hold a plogging event — titled "Pick it up, Walk it out, Protect it!" — along the Tancheon riverside in Seongnam on Sept. 30.

Social initiatives will link local economic support with assistance for vulnerable groups. The council will connect social solidarity economy enterprises and businesses producing goods made by people with severe disabilities to priority purchasing programs at public institutions, helping expand their market reach. A career and employment mentoring program for university students volunteering at local study centers, "Mentor's Mentor Vol. 3," is also planned.

On the governance side, the council will pursue joint projects covering exchanges between public audit bodies, the operation of conflict-of-interest prevention advisory bodies, and anti-solicitation compliance. The aim is to strengthen accountability and transparency among public institutions in Seongnam through inter-agency collaboration.

The Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled is participating in 11 of the 12 joint projects. It will serve as the lead agency for an "AI Practical Exchange Network," through which member institutions will share their AI capabilities and know-how. The agency also plans to build a practitioner-centered AI network to apply AI to improving services used by people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Last year, the agency conducted integrated disability employment consulting for six public institutions in Seongnam. Starting this year, it will also join an ESG roundtable organized by the city of Seongnam, with plans to expand cooperation beyond public institutions to the private sector.

Lee Jong-seong, chairman of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled, said the agency would "share its expertise in disability employment with the local community and, through inter-agency cooperation, create tangible change that people can feel on the ground." He added that the agency would "continue to practice ESG management that grows together with the local community."


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