SK E&S

 
“Globalization disappears, and localtact (local contact) emerges!”

SK E&S’ “Local:Rise Gunsan” plays the role of a social safety net
 
- Social ventures in Gunsan succeeded in product commercialization. SK E&S held the “Local:Rise Live 2020” conference
- SK Group hosted its social value festival, SUB-SOVAC, with the main agenda of the “era of localtact.”
- An off-line pop-up store will also open, and SK E&S will promote the nationwide application of its “urban regeneration initiative.”
 
SK Group’s green energy company, SK E&S (CEO Yu Jeong-Joon, www.skens.com), highlights its urban regeneration project, “Local:Rise Gunsan,” as it actively plays the role of a social safety net to help address difficulties faced by local communities.
 
SK E&S announced that “Local:Rise Gunsan” was selected as the main agenda for SK Group’s SUB-SOVAC and held the online conference “Local:Rise Live 2020” on July 7.
 
Social Value Connect (SOVAC), which was launched by SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won last year, is Korea’s largest private-led social value festival designed to collectively discuss various social issues, such as unemployment and environmental pollution. SUB-SOVAC is a preliminary event before SK Group’s SOVAC event scheduled for the second half of this year.
 
Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasizes that companies should act as a safety net for its stakeholders in the event of a crisis like COVID-19. In this regard, the chairman asked subsidiaries to actively find and implement roles aligned to this principle at the company level.
 
SK E&S is looking for ways to solve regional problems in Gunsan. In March last year, the company launched “Local:Rise Gunsan,” Korea’s first private-led urban regeneration project that fosters social ventures. The main goal is to transform the area of ​​Yeonghwa-dong, the old city center, as the center of culture and tourism in Jeollabuk-do Province, and revitalize the city by creating local jobs.
 
This project is aimed at reviving Gunsan, a once industrial city specializing in the production of automobiles and ships that has suffered a shrinking economy after GM Daewoo shut down its plant in the city. However, this city has recently gained more attention as “localization” and “decentralization” have emerged as new trends in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Gunsan project plays the role of a safety net that revitalizes local businesses going through difficult times.
 
At the conference, many local experts, including Lee Dong-gun, CEO of My Real Trip; Jo Sang-rae, CEO of Underdogs; and Roh Tae-joon, Team Manager of Danggeun Market, participated in a panel discussion. They discussed major post-COVID-19 changes and megatrends, such as ▲ diversified workplaces caused by an increase in telecommuting, ▲ a growing interest in domestic travel, ▲ “localtact,” and the development of local communities/businesses.
 
*”Localtact” is a new term that follows the concept of “untact.” It refers to a paradigm shift to “unglobalization” and “localization,” which will create a new trend of building relationships around local districts and villages in the near future.
 
According to the panelists, “COVID-19 was expected to bring an unprecedented crisis to the local economy, but instead, it created new possibilities, such as the revitalization of local travel and local communities. We should pay close attention to the ever-changing social trends with a renewed focus on local communities.”
 
Such changes have already been seen in “Local:Rise Gunsan.” The goods developed by social ventures based in Gunsan are making tangible results through successful commercialization.
 
Gunsan Sumgim, a company that distributes the community’s specialty product, gim (dried laver), expanded its sales channel through GS Home Shopping last June 26. Ssookstore, which distributes honey sticks produced by farmers in Gunsan, also entered major social commerce sites, such as Coupang and Naver Store, in the first half of this year.
 
Meanwhile, SK E&S will open the off-line pop-up store “Local City Exhibition: The City That Came to Me” on July 9. This store displays products commercialized by local social ventures in collaboration with Underdogs, a youth startup training institute.
 
The event is held at the Underdogs office in Waryong-dong, Jongno-gu, until July 12, and a total of 26 social ventures will be participating. Participants include the “Local:Rise Gunsan” startup teams as well as the local teams from other regions, such as Gangneung and Jeju.
 
SK E&S will provide a space where the 26 brands shall exhibit and sell more than 100 kinds of foods and lifestyle goods, including dried laver from Gunsan, ceramics depicting Gangneung’s nature, and green tea from Jeju, as part of an effort to promote the products of local startup teams.
 
Given the COVID-19 situation, attendance to the exhibit will take place on a reservation basis, and tickets can be purchased through “Naver Reservation.” (Related link: https://m.booking.naver.com/booking/12/bizes/375656?area=ple)
 
SK E&S plans to make Gunsan the pilot site for local regeneration initiatives, and the company plans to expand the “Local:Rise” DNA by applying the Gunsan model to other regions through collaboration.
 
“If Gunsan’s urban regeneration story becomes the starting point for convergence and synergy of urban renewal projects in other cities, the urban regeneration model will gain momentum. As SK E&S is carrying out regional energy projects across the country, we will continue to contribute in solving local pain points and play the role of a safety net,” said SK E&S CEO Yu Jeong-Joon.
 
 
  
 
 

 

Photo 1) Panelists speak at the “Local:Rise Live 2020” conference held in Jangmi-dong, Gunsan, on July 7. (L-R: Park Gi-beom, CEO of BPLUS; Lee Dong-geon, CEO of My Real Trip; Cho Sang-rae, CEO of Underdogs; Noh Tae-jun, Team Manager of Danggeun Market)
 
 
 
  
 
Photo 2) Underdogs CEO Cho Sang-rae speaks as a panelist at the “Local: Rise Live 2020” conference held in Jangmi-dong, Gunsan, on July 7.