Korea Social Value Festa Opens... Chey Tae-won Calls AI 'Powerful Solver for Social Issues'

The Korea Social Value Festa, where the government, corporations, and civil society draw social solutions based on policies, capital, cutting-edge technology, and on-site ideas, has kicked off on a much larger scale in its third year.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) announced that it hosted the 3rd Korea Social Value Festa today (the 21st) at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Running for two days until the 22nd, this year's event features about 400 participating organizations—an increase from last year's 344—presenting around 300 exhibition booths and over 50 sessions and special programs, drawing roughly 15,000 visitors to the site.

Attendees from the government included Prime Minister Han Sung-sook, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Shin-hak, and Ambassador for Global Climate and Environment Kang Geum-sil, while business leaders included KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won, KCCI Executive Vice Chairman Kim Jung-il, and Ji Dong-sub, head of the SV (Social Value) Committee at SK SUPEX Council.

Under the overarching theme of "Beyond Thoughts into Action, Beyond Problems into Solutions," this year's event placed strong emphasis on presenting action-oriented collaboration models focusing on "who will join hands with whom and use what capital and technology to generate actual impact."


In his welcome speech, Chairman Chey said, "Complex issues such as aging, caregiving, and climate change can no longer be resolved by the power of government or a single corporation alone," adding, "I believe that artificial intelligence (AI) can go beyond a mere 'substitute' to become the 'most powerful solver' in creating a better society."

He continued, "If AI technology is combined with measurement and reward systems, a major transformation will occur," stating, "This will create a virtuous cycle ecosystem where solving social problems returns as new opportunities for businesses, efficient policies for the government, and better lives for the public."

At the main session, the "Leaders Summit," about 150 leaders from various sectors including business, government, finance, foundations, and social economy gathered to discuss solutions under the topic of "How Capital Boosts Social Value."

In his opening remarks at the Leaders Summit, Chairman Chey noted, "The role of capital is crucial to ensure that good attempts and achievements in solving social problems do not end as one-off events but lead to greater changes." He added, "I hope we can think together about how to efficiently connect and utilize different types of capital already existing across business, government, finance, and the social economy, rather than simply pumping in more capital."

Kim Jung-tae, CEO of MYSC, Asia's largest impact investment firm, suggested, "Since solving social problems is a high-risk, long-term project, it is difficult to sustain with a single source of capital." He added, "A 'blended finance' system must take root where different entities step in sequentially: government subsidies in the early stages, loss-tolerant philanthropic capital during the business model verification stage, and impact investments and loans during the growth stage."

The exhibition hall of this year's Social Value Festa featured booths set up across four themed zones—Collaboration, Innovation & Environment, Region, and Society—where companies and organizations such as SK Hynix, SK Telecom, Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail), and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance showcased their solutions to social issues.

In addition, the event strengthened cooperation with international organizations by co-hosting the "Social and Solidarity Economy Activation Forum" with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and contributed to spreading a culture of respect for life by holding the "Life-Saving Conference" with the cooperation of the pan-governmental Life-Saving Promotion Headquarters under the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

Executive Vice Chairman Kim Jung-il expressed his expectation, saying, "We hope this Festa will establish itself as a powerful social solution platform that connects the capabilities of various entities such as corporations, governments, social enterprises, and civil society to turn 'individual concerns' into 'solutions for everyone.'"
 

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.