'Choi Tae-won Proposal' SOVAC, Expands as a 'Platform for Solving Social Issues'

[Financial News] Approximately 10,000 people participated in 'SOVAC (Social Value Connect)', a social value platform led by SK.
SK announced on the 27th that about 180 partners, including private companies like SK Hynix, SK Telecom, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Kakao Impact, academia such as Seoul National University and KAIST, and government and public institutions like the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, participated in 'SOVAC 2025', held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, for two days starting on the 25th under the theme 'Designing a Sustainable Future'.
SOVAC was proposed by Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, and launched in 2019. It has been credited over the past 7 years with contributing to impact investment attraction and market development for social enterprises and social ventures. In particular, this year, young generations such as university students and representatives of social enterprises from Japan participated, showing the potential for expanding the social value ecosystem. Chairman Choi Tae-won stated in the video opening speech on the first day, "There is a need to change the structure so that companies, organizations, or individuals that achieve results in solving social issues receive more opportunities and rewards," and proposed, "Let's create a system to accurately measure the status and outcomes of social issues and institutionalize a performance-based reward structure."
The competition 'SK Telecom FLY AI X SOVAC Challenger' was held for the first time this year, with 66 university students proposing AI solutions to solve social issues such as resource circulation, aging, and accessibility for the disabled, in collaboration with social enterprises. The 'FEELINK' team, which won the grand prize, received high praise for proposing a solution that allows visually impaired individuals to receive voice guidance on images in a mobile app.
'Korea-Japan Impact Investment Cooperation' was also discussed. Mr. Motoi Kawabata of the Japan Social Innovation Investment Foundation said, "Japan is in the stage of verifying the potential of impact investment as a means of solving social issues, continuing its growth trend," and "The two countries have similar social issues, so we expect cooperation in solving social issues."
At the market and sales booths, over 50 social enterprises sold products to the general public and held a bazaar to donate proceeds to children in need. During the event, a total of 27,000 people participated in the donation platform 'Kakao Together', supporting △child meals △youth education △environmental problem-solving △school violence prevention, with total donations amounting to 30 million won.
A SOVAC representative said, "SOVAC has established itself as a leading social value platform in Korea over the past 7 years, expanding participation not only to various stakeholders in the social enterprise and social venture ecosystem but also to future generations and globally." 

ehcho@fnnews.com Eunhyo Cho Reporter