The National Assembly of South Korea approved the “Social Solidarity Economy Basic Act” on 20 August. The new legislation establishes a common framework for different organisations that, until now, had mainly been regulated through separate rules and programmes. Its adoption represents an important step towards the recognition and structuring of the SSE in Asia.
This new law, under development since 2014 following a proposal by lawmaker Yong Hye-in, which had been rejected on three occasions, seeks to establish an integrated national framework to support SSE organisations, including cooperatives, social enterprises and community enterprises.
Until now, Korean policies had been fragmented among various agencies and ministries, which limited their coordination and development. The law provides, among other aspects, for better coordination of public policies, the development of solidarity-based financing mechanisms — including investments, loans and guarantees — as well as better access to markets. Public bodies will be able to give priority to social and solidarity economy actors in certain public procurement tenders and service delegations.
Beyond supporting SSE organisations, the text recognises their role in addressing several major challenges facing Korean society: inequality, demographic and territorial decline, employment, local services, healthcare and social protection. The government’s stated objective is to turn the social and solidarity economy into a genuine driver of territorial development and a new source of growth.
This development is also significant at international level. It forms part of the momentum promoted by the United Nations, the ILO and the OECD, which have for several years been encouraging States to strengthen institutional frameworks for the social and solidarity economy.
Almost thirteen years after its initial legislative initiative, South Korea has established a common national framework for the SSE. The new South Korean law will now have to be translated into concrete policies and programmes. Its implementation will make it possible to observe how coordination between administrations is organised and how instruments such as financing, public procurement and support for organisations in the sector are put into practice.
