Rev. Kyong yong SONG
The Co-chairman of GSEF 2013 Organising Committee
President, Seoul Social Economy Network (Republic of Korea)
 
Rev. Kyong yong Song is a natural-born helper. He has spent most of his life in helping the poor and the disadvantaged. He started a number of shelters for the poverty-stricken people of urban area, ‘House of Sharing’, in early his career. He led many initiatives to solve social problems such as the poverty and the unemployment, collaborating with numerous partners around the world.
Rev. Song played a key role in ‘National Basic Living Security Act’, which was a major leap in the social welfare system in Korea.
Several social cooperatives and self-sufficiency enterprises in Korea were established by him and his colleagues, therefore he is considered to be one of early pioneers in the Korean social economy.
 
As an established thought leader and respected practitioner on social economy and social innovation, he has advised governments, multilateral organizations, communities and enterprises throughout the world. He is now the president of Seoul Social Economy Network, which is a ‘network of networks’ of social economy organizations in Korea. He also serves as a chairperson of Sharing and Future. He is leading many advisory groups for government, including Social Economy Policy Planning Group for the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Rev. Song founded Walking Church, an Anglican church in 2010.
"Building Better Governance for Social Economy in Seoul"

After Mr. Won-soon Park took Mayor’s office in 2011, paradigm shift has been made for social economy policies in Seoul. One of the most noticeable changes was that governance between the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) and social economy organizations kicked in to create policy programs. Seoul Social Economy Network, which is a ‘network of networks’ of social economy organizations in Korea, has been a key partner of the SMG in building this governance structure, resulting in an advisory task force The Seoul Social Economy Policy Planning Group. Since its beginning in 2012, the Seoul Social Economy Policy Planning Group has worked as main instrument to design effective social economy policy programs. This governance model is not just an effort to foster social economy in seoul, but also an endeavor to realize cooperation and solidarity, the core principles of social economy.