SOVAC, 228 Businesses and Institutions Join Forces for 'The Future of Regions'

[Financial News] SOVAC (Social Value Connect), a social value ecosystem platform, said on the 20th that it will co-host the third Korea Social Value Festa, which will take place at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Seoul from the 21st to the 22nd. SOVAC was launched in 2019 at the suggestion of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and has grown into Korea's leading social value ecosystem platform for addressing social problems. Since 2024, it has co-hosted the Korea Social Value Festa organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), allowing a wide range of stakeholders inside and outside the social value ecosystem to participate and connect.
About 400 organizations will participate in this year's Festa, while SOVAC will present a range of programs—including sessions, a market and exhibitions—with a total of 228 businesses and institutions.
The core theme of this year's SOVAC is 'Local—The Future of Regions.' As the gap between the Seoul metropolitan area and non-metropolitan regions widens, and regional challenges such as population decline and the outflow of young people become increasingly complex, new approaches and cooperation are needed for sustainable regional development.
Against this backdrop, SOVAC has listened to the voices of young people from local communities, social enterprise officials and experts through the offline 'SOVAC Salon' gatherings since May. It has examined the challenges and potential facing regions from various perspectives.
These discussions will become more concrete at SOVAC 2026. At the event's flagship program, the 'SOVAC Flagship Session,' held on the first day, the 21st, representatives from businesses, academia and the social value ecosystem will share challenges encountered in the field and examples of responses. They will also discuss ways to build a sustainable future for regions.
Ji Dong-seop, chair of the SV Committee at the SK SUPEX Council, will share SOVAC's role and future development direction. Jung Kyung-sun, vice president of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, and Kim Jonggul, a professor in the Department of Sustainable Economics at Hanyang University, will each deliver a keynote address on the conditions needed for regions to provide new opportunities for young people and the social value ecosystem, as well as the institutional foundations required to support them.
The panel discussion will also include the keynote speakers, Yook Shim-na, secretary general of Kakao Impact Foundation, Heo Jae-hyeong, chair of Impact Alliance, and Lee Kang-hee, representative of 'OtherPado,' which runs a business distributing and processing local agricultural products in Hadong County. They will share their experiences and perspectives while exploring ways to cooperate to enhance regional sustainability.
SOVAC will also feature sessions seeking solutions to various social issues, including regional problems. In particular, this year's event will showcase a new initiative that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to address social problems and create social value. The Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies (CSES), a nonprofit foundation established by SK Group, will unveil for the first time at SOVAC an open platform that uses AI to measure and assess the outcomes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. The platform analyzes the actual changes resulting from CSR projects, such as fostering social enterprises and supporting vulnerable groups, and converts them into monetary value. This can help organizations assess project outcomes more objectively and improve the effectiveness of future CSR activities.
Ji Dong-seop, chair of the SV Committee at the SK SUPEX Council, said, "SOVAC is a platform that connects various stakeholders working to solve social problems and enables them to share experiences and ideas. This year, I hope it will allow us to explore the various possibilities in regions and serve as an opportunity for voices from the field to lead to new collaborations and initiatives."

[email protected] Lim Su-bin Reporter