The partnership provides idle corporate space and clean energy for a twice-weekly farmers market, expanding last year's pilot into a lasting community benefit project
Seoul Energy Corp. plans to develop its urban-rural direct farmers market — which connects city consumers with fresh produce from farming communities — into a sustainable community benefit model.
Seoul Energy Corp. signed an MOU with Wanju-gun in North Jeolla Province on Tuesday at the company's Mokdong headquarters in Seoul, formalizing cooperation on "regional coexistence and the spread of ESG values."
The agreement builds on the direct farmers market the two sides launched last year, aiming to transform it from a one-off event into an ongoing, citizen-centered corporate social responsibility project.
Under the MOU, Seoul Energy Corp. will provide market space inside its Mokdong headquarters and support operations with access to facilities and promotional assistance.
The company will also supply clean electricity generated by its solar power installations for use at the market, depending on on-site conditions, combining regional cooperation with ESG goals in the energy sector. Wanju-gun will handle the selection of participating farms, the product lineup, on-site operations, and quality and safety management of agricultural goods.
The market runs every Wednesday and Friday at the Mokdong headquarters, selling fresh produce and livestock products from Wanju farms to company employees and nearby residents. The market is scheduled to close in October; as of late August it had held 24 sessions, drawing 4,528 visitors and recording sales of about 86 million won ($63,900).
Building on those results, Seoul Energy Corp. intends to evolve the market from a simple produce-sales event into a permanent platform where farms and urban consumers interact regularly. The plan is to give farmers a stable sales channel while giving citizens a direct way to support regional solidarity through local produce purchases, creating a virtuous cycle for the local economy.
The two organizations will regularly share operational data, visitor feedback and participating farmers' opinions to improve the market, and will continue to identify new urban-rural cooperation projects rooted in the direct market initiative.
"This agreement is meaningful because we are building a sustainable urban-rural coexistence model rather than relying on one-time charity-style events," Seoul Energy Corp. President Hwangbo Yeon said. "Wanju-gun also offers many areas where we can cooperate on the energy side — solar power, hydrogen and more — which makes this occasion all the more significant."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
