Trends Report: Operational Status of Local Government Social Economy Funds (2025)
Local governments’ Social Economy Funds can serve as a buffer against rapid policy changes by the central government and provide a foundation for implementing independent policies at a pace and in a manner suited to local conditions. The future task will be to pursue a phased growth support model for local social economy actors, promoting role-sharing and organic linkage between foundational and metropolitan levels, and between public funds and private finance.
It is time to move beyond the existing enterprise finance model focused on small-scale, low-interest loans, and explore diverse blended finance models that can promote the growth of local social economy enterprises, while seeking ways to enhance the fund’s utility.
Accordingly, the Korea Social Value and Solidarity Foundation (SVS) is publishing a trends report on the operational status of local government Social Economy Funds in 2025. This report aims to provide useful data for those seeking effective fund utilization strategies, by examining the current status and trends of local government fund utilization, centered on their 2025 plans.
Scope of the Report
- Local governments establish a Fund Management Plan for each fiscal year, as per the Local Government Fund Management Framework Act (abbreviated as “Local Fund Act”), and disclose it through the local government’s website.
- Among the 14 local governments that have established a Social Economy Fund, 13 have disclosed their 2025 Fund Management Plan on their website.
- This report is primarily based on an analysis of the Fund Management Plans of these 13 local governments, but also incorporates information gathered through business announcements and interviews with local government fund managers.
Report Structure
① (Overview of Local Government Funds) Fund establishment status, scale of creation, and trends in increase/decrease.
② (2025 Plan) Analysis of the 2025 fund utilization plan, focusing on the composition of project expenditures.
③ (Trend Analysis) Analysis of the recent 5-year trends in project expenditures, loan scale, and fund management sectors, and their implications.
④ (Regional Programs) Introduction to fund-related programs in each region.
