[Interview] From Value-Centered Products to the Capital Market: Designing a Virtuous Cycle for K-Impact

[Editor’s Note🖊]

How does a young person who simply wanted to “do good” grow into an innovator working to reshape corporate governance? 

This interview features Seonguk Jeon, who began with the aspiration to build a company that does good, and went on to work across various fields of the social and solidarity economy—including social enterprises, cooperatives, intermediary support organizations, and member-based networks. Today, he is active as a social economy expert and the founder of the social venture Soact Inc.

 

Organizations in the social and solidarity economy are expected to pursue both social value and financial sustainability, which can sometimes make them difficult for consumers or investors to fully understand. However, this very characteristic can also be a strength. Building a virtuous cycle of K-Impact—where value creation and financial systems reinforce each other—has become increasingly important.

 

In this interview, Jeon shares how he first encountered the social and solidarity economy and how his experiences eventually led him to his current business. His reflections on how value-driven products and services can scale may offer readers a useful point of reference.

 

Seongwook Jeon in action at the field.(Photo courtesy of Seongwook Jeon)

Q. You’ve spent a considerable amount of time working in the social and solidarity economy. How did you first encounter this field, and what kinds of work have you done along the way?

 

A. At first, I had a vague desire to start a company that would “do good.” While I was serving in the military, I came across books that introduced the concept of social enterprises, and that’s when I realized that the kind of company I had been imagining already existed in practice.

 

After being discharged, I wanted to enter the social and solidarity economy, but I didn’t really know where or how to begin. So I enrolled in a graduate program focused on social economy, where I started to learn more systematically about what the social and solidarity economy is and what kind of impact it can have on society.

 

Since then, I’ve gained experience in a variety of settings: a cultural complex, a youth-run food service cooperative, and a (preliminary) social enterprise producing pet treats. I also worked at a district-level Social Economy Support Center in Seoul, an intermediary organization that supports social economy enterprises on the ground.

 

In addition, I was involved with the Korea Social Economy Solidarity Network, an organization composed of social economy stakeholders. Through these roles, I was able to build a broad understanding of the field. Today, I run a social venture called Soact Inc.

 

Q. Could you tell us more about Soact Inc. and the work your company is currently doing?

 

A. While working in the social and solidarity economy, I noticed that many people invest in companies without fully understanding what is often referred to as ESG, or non-financial corporate performance. There is a clear information gap when it comes to how companies perform in terms of governance, social responsibility, and sustainability.

 

I began to think that by addressing this information asymmetry, we could help people make better investment decisions—not just for financial returns, but as a way to collectively participate in corporate governance. Through collective investment and informed shareholders, it might be possible to influence how companies are run.

 

Based on this idea, we started by offering services that analyze companies’ non-financial information, and we also began building a community of minority shareholders. Along the way, we identified governance issues in a particular company (referred to here as Company A). We came to believe that focusing on changing even a single company could be meaningful, and we are currently running a project centered on that goal.

 

Seongwook Jeon, CEO of the social venture Soact Inc. (Photo courtesy of Seongwook Jeon)

Q. Some people worry that working in the social and solidarity economy doesn’t lead to strong financial returns. Why do you continue to work in this field despite those concerns?

 

A. I wouldn’t say there’s a particularly noble or grand reason. Simply put, I believe that the social and solidarity economy represents both an alternative and a future. That belief is what keeps me working in this field.

 

😎The interview with Seonguk Jeon continues in Part 2.👀

 

❓Do you have more questions for Seonguk Jeon?📨

If this interview sparked your curiosity, feel free to send your questions to [email address].

We will collect readers’ questions and address them in a follow-up interview.