Citibank Korea holds social enterprise awards

Representatives of Gangseo Sharing & Caring Center (job creation award), center, pose with representatives of Damsimpo (social innovation award), left, and representatives of Gyeongseong Technology (growth award), right, during an award ceremony held in Mapo-gu, downtown Seoul, Dec. 18. Courtesy of Citibank Korea

Citibank Korea and Joyful Union held a ceremony for the “2020 Korea Social Enterprise Awards” at the Frontone building located in Mapo District, Seoul, last week.

The Korea Social Enterprise Awards was established in 2017 at the initiative of the union and under the sponsorship of Citibank Korea to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the “Social Enterprise Promotion Act” and the 50th year of Citi's presence in the Korean market.

The award is designed to identify and encourage sound social enterprises that lead people-centered growth and promote revitalization of social enterprises in society. The award ceremony took place in full compliance with the COVID-19 quarantine guidelines with all participants required to wear masks and the minimum number of attendees.

The “2020 Korea Social Enterprise Awards” consists of the three categories of job creation, social innovation, and growth, and the winners were selected based on a series of procedures including document review, on-spot due diligence, applicants' presentation, and the final deliberation of the professional reviewing panel.

The winning companies were particularly recognized for their continued commitment to generating jobs for the socially marginalized, manufacturing learning materials for children with visual impairments, and providing quality digital social welfare services.

“Social Cooperative Gangseo Sharing & Caring Center” was chosen as the award recipient in the field of job creation while Damsimpo and Gyeongseong Technology were honored in the social innovation and the growth category respectively. Ten million won in cash prizes were given to the companies along with commemorative plaques.

“Citibank Korea will continue to lend multi-faceted support to revitalize the social economy along with the award-winning enterprises that have been striving to create social value amid this challenging COVID-19 situation,” Citibank Korea CEO Yoo Myeong-soon was quoted as saying in a press release. (Advertorial)