Jeju Opens Second Call for Preliminary Social Enterprises, Offering Up to Three Years of Designation and Opportunities for Financial Support

【Financial News, Jeju—Reporter Jeong Yong-bok】 Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is seeking to identify additional Jeju-type preliminary social enterprises that address community problems and create jobs for vulnerable groups through their business activities. Designated companies will receive the status for up to three years, along with access to management and accounting consulting, financial support programs, and regional specialized projects.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 5th, applications are being accepted through the 16th for the '2026 Second Call for Designation of Jeju-type Preliminary Social Enterprises.'
A preliminary social enterprise is a company that pursues social objectives while conducting business activities and preparing for future certification as a social enterprise.
Like ordinary companies, these enterprises generate revenue by selling products or services while also pursuing social values, such as employing vulnerable groups and providing services to local communities. Even if they do not yet meet all the requirements for certification as a social enterprise, companies that satisfy certain standards can be designated as preliminary social enterprises and establish a foundation for growth.
The designation lasts for up to three years. Selected companies can receive management and accounting consulting and gain opportunities to participate in financial support programs and regional specialized projects. However, designation as a preliminary social enterprise does not automatically guarantee selection for all financial support. Companies must meet the requirements and undergo the screening process for each individual support program.
Eligible applicants are companies that have their head office in Jeju and meet the designation requirements, including an appropriate organizational structure, the pursuit of social objectives, and the conduct of business activities. They must have been engaged in actual business activities, such as producing and selling goods or services, through the month immediately preceding the application.
Additional conditions apply to companies applying under the 'job-providing type,' which provides jobs to vulnerable groups. They must employ at least one paid worker as of the end of the month preceding the application, and vulnerable groups must account for at least 30% of all workers.
A key consideration in designating preliminary social enterprises is not the form of the company but the social problems it seeks to address through its business.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will comprehensively assess whether applicants pursue social values, as well as the specificity of their business plans, the feasibility of their businesses, and their sustainability during on-site inspections and the screening process. A major criterion will be whether they can continue their business activities while realizing their social objectives within their actual business structure.
Applications must be submitted online through the Social Enterprise Portal by 6 p.m. on the 16th. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province plans to conduct on-site inspections of applicants this month and announce the designation results after the screening committee reviews them in November.
Briefing sessions will also be held for companies preparing to participate in the call. The first session will take place in person at the Jerahan Processing Center of the Jeju Social Economy Support Center at 2 p.m. on the 6th.
The second briefing will be held online at 2 p.m. on the 7th. The sessions will explain the designation requirements, application procedures, and required documents.
The significance of this call lies in its effort to identify companies at the stage before they obtain certification as social enterprises. Because early-stage social enterprises must pursue both public-interest objectives and business viability, they need to design their employment structures, social outcomes, and financial sustainability together, unlike ordinary startups.
In particular, companies that make employing vulnerable groups their core business model may find it difficult to maintain employment over the long term unless their labor costs and revenue structure are stably aligned.
The purpose of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province's providing management and accounting consulting and opportunities to participate in various support programs after designation is to strengthen both social value and business sustainability.
Kang Ae-suk, director of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province's Economic Vitality Bureau, said, "We will identify and support companies that can grow into agents of solving community problems," and added, "We will expand the social and solidarity economy ecosystem by supporting the sustainable growth of preliminary social enterprises and their transition to certification as social enterprises."


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter