[Apr. 08, 2012] WT Newsletter #4- Korean Social Enterprise News 3.“Great Job!” Five Social Enterprises Reveal Their Management Status

[Apr. 08, 2012] WT Newsletter #4- Korean Social Enterprise News 3. “Great Job!” Five Social Enterprises Reveal Their Management Status Apr. 08, 2012 / News 1 http://news1.kr/articles/622496 Duremaeul Inc., Jochiwon, Yeongi, South Chungcheon Province. © News1 Picture by Dong-Wook YANG (Seoul=News1) By Eun-Ji LEE Duremaeul Inc. and four other social enterprises have made public disclosure of their management status. This is the first time this has been done by social enterprises. The Ministry of Employment and Labor released a statement on April 8th saying the first-ever public disclosure of the management status of the five enterprises was made to support transparency and grow consensus on social enterprises by publicizing their financial and social performance. The five participating enterprises are Duremaeul Inc., AceFood Inc., Ansan Health Cooperative, Travelers Map Inc. and the Dasomi Foundation. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has organized a disclosure of management status committee, composed of a number of prominent experts, to write disclosure guidelines and prepare documents on participating enterprises. The disclosure of management status, enforced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, depicts financial performance statistics similar to those of corporations, including sales figures and net profit, as well as social performance information, including number of underprivileged employees, number of social service beneficiaries and democratic decision-making structure. Duremaeul Inc., which operates a cleaning service, posted 700 million won in total sales in 2010, up 250 percent from the previous year. What's more, its debt-to-equity ratio decreased from 968 percent to 35 percent. In 2009, it logged a 40 million won deficit; however, in 2010, it posted a 170 million won net profit. As a result, it has increased its underprivileged employment by 24 percent and donated its part of its proceeds, totaling 24 million won, to a local self-support center. AceFood Inc. reported over 10 billion won in total sales and a 270 million won net profit in 2010. Its debt-to-equity ratio dropped from 2,764 percent in 2009 to 1,120 percent in 2010. Ansan Health Cooperative posted 2.36 billion won in sales and a net profit of more than 100 million won. The Dasomi Foundation brought in 4 billion won in sales for an 8.8 million won net profit. Travelers Map Inc. reported sales of 226 million won, a 75-fold increase from the previous year, but was 7,000 won in the red, making it the only enterprise out of the five showing a deficit. The disclosure of management status by social enterprises increases financial transparency and accountability, as well as public understanding of social enterprises. Furthermore, the social enterprise market will be strengthened through active support and investments from the private sectors. The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to recruit 25 more social enterprises this year and to further promote voluntary disclosure of management status. Those interested in participating in the disclosure of management status can apply at the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency and receive helpful counseling and guidance. Also, those who participate in the disclosure of management status will be granted incentives including additional points in various support projects and appointment as an excellent enterprise in active promotion. “As the number of enterprises volunteering to participate in the disclosure of management status is expected to increase, we will actively support them through consulting,” said Tae-Hee LEE, a manpower policy officer. “We will continuously work to improve the current system in order to allow enterprises to function more effectively and meaningfully.” lej@news1.kr Translated: by Rachel Soul LEE Edited: by Patrick Ferraro