Yeongam-gun trains officials to advance solidarity economy policy

Social economy enterprises grew 76.5%; training aims to deepen officials' policy understanding and expand the local circular economy

Yeongam-gun held a policy training session for public officials to more effectively integrate solidarity economy principles into local governance.

The county invited Kim Young-sik, secretary-general of the National Solidarity Economy Local Government Council, to lead the session Monday at Wangin Hall of the county office.

The training was designed to deepen officials' understanding of solidarity economy policy in line with the growth of social economy enterprises and the expansion of the local circular economy, and to help embed those principles more effectively into county administration.

The session covered domestic and international solidarity economy case studies, models for building a local circular economy, and examples of how solidarity economy organizations have addressed community challenges. Officials also examined the role local governments should play — and how they should respond — as momentum builds toward enacting a framework law on the solidarity economy.

Yeongam-gun has worked steadily to nurture social economy enterprises. The number grew from 68 in 2022 to 120 in 2025, a 76.5 percent increase, and 123 enterprises — including pre-certified social enterprises, certified social enterprises, village enterprises, cooperatives and self-reliance enterprises — now form a key pillar of the local economy.

The county plans to build on the training to further develop its Yeongam-style local circular economy policy, linking social economy enterprise development with youth work-experience projects to broaden the foundation for a sustainable local economy.

"The solidarity economy is an important policy that connects diverse local resources to grow both jobs and community together," said Park Hyo-jin, head of Yeongam-gun's Local Circular Economy Division. "We will continue to strengthen the policy capacity of our public officials so that the Yeongam-style local circular economy can become even more vibrant."