Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation (Chairman Kim Hyun-dae) organized the ‘2025 Social Finance Forum’ on the theme of ‘Finance for Community Recovery and Sustainable Development’ for two days, from Thursday, July 3rd to Friday, July 4th, at Community House Masil.
- The theme of this year’s Social Finance Forum was the role of finance in the recovery and sustainable development of local communities.
- It serves as a platform for domestic and international experts to discuss how finance can contribute to solving social problems and restoring communities, especially as the importance of resilience is highlighted amid the changing international order and prolonged economic and social crises.
July 3: Social Finance Summit
The ‘Social Finance Summit’ on July 3rd consisted of technical workshop, trend-sharing session, and networking event for social finance experts, activists, and researchers.
- It brings together professionals from the funding ecosystem that supports the growth of businesses and projects pursuing social value.
- The goal is to foster a relationship of shared growth by exchanging knowledge and information and discussing experiences and concerns.
Morning Session
- The morning session, ‘Sustainable Finance Responding to the Climate Crisis,’ features presentations by:
- Lee Jong-oh (Secretary General, Korea Social Responsibility Investment Forum)
- Go Dong-hyun (Head of Climate Finance Team, Climate Solutions)
- Lee Chang-soo (Chairman, Korea Federation of Citizen Power Cooperative Councils)
- Han Sang-yeop (CEO, SoPoong Ventures)
Afternoon Sessions
- The afternoon will include a book talk and discussion on the themes: ‘Can the Social Solidarity Economy be an Alternative for the 21st Century?’ and ‘The Meeting of the Public Sector and Startup Methodology.’
- This will be followed by a panel discussion where participants will share vivid experiments and concerns from the forefront of social finance resource mobilization and funding, on the topics: ‘Considerations and Practices for Ethical Exit’ and ‘Creating a Social Solidarity Fund in the Region.’
July 4: Social Finance Conference
July 4th started with the opening ceremony and followed by the sessions where participants discussed on the growth and development strategies for the domestic and international social finance ecosystem.
Morning Conference
- The conference began with a keynote speech by Lee Il-cheong (Senior Research Fellow, UN Research Institute for Social Development, UNRISD) on ‘The Status and Outlook of UN SDGs Implementation.’
- Keynote speeches was followed by Kim Hyung-mi (21st President, Korean Society for Cooperative Studies) on ‘Growth Driving Towards 2030,’ and Lim Chang-gyu (Secretary General, GSG Impact Korea) on ‘Sustainable Development and Impact Finance.’
- The morning concluded with a panel discussion on “Sustainable Development and Social Finance,” moderated by Kim Jong-gul (Professor, Hanyang University).
Afternoon Sessions
- The afternoon included a Policy Dialogue to review the necessity and effectiveness of current social finance activation tasks and debate implementation strategies.
- This was followed by a Social Investment Wholesale Fund Exchange Meeting, co-hosted with GSG Impact Korea (Chairman Moon Cheol-woo).
- International speakers included Philipp Essl (Head of Impact, Better Society Capital, BSC), the UK social investment wholesale fund, and Aiko Kozaki (Head of Investment, JANPIA – Japan Network for Public Interest Activities), which contributes to solving social problems using dormant deposits in Japan.
- They examined case studies of wholesale fund creation and operation in the UK and Japan, and discussed the ‘Role and Potential of Impact Investment Wholesale Funds’ by sharing insights and cases, including a review of their applicability in the Korean context with Dr. Park Chang-kyun (Vice President, Korea Capital Market Institute).
Social finance is more than just financial support; it is a key tool for enhancing community sustainability and realizing social value. The Social Finance Forum, held for the second time following the 2023 event, served as an opportunity to re-examine the social role of finance and expand the cooperation ecosystem.
- Detailed schedule and program information are available on the Social Finance Forum webpage (socialfinanceforum.net).
