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and other operational expenses. These legal incentives have resulted in the registration of over
3,700 social enterprises in Korea by 2024. 100 Of these, approximately 2,463, about 67%, are

focused on creating employment opportunities. 101 This reflects the South Korean government’s
policy to use social enterprises as a mechanism for job creation.

Compared to other countries, social enterprises in Korea receive more extensive financial and
resource support, which has led to a rapid increase in their numbers. However, there has been
criticism that this growth emphasizes quantity over quality. Many entrepreneurs register
primarily to access government funding, rather than out of a genuine commitment to solving
social problems. 102 Excessive government intervention and support have also led to issues such
as corruption within some social enterprises, and an overreliance on state aid has undermined

long-term organizational sustainability. 103 As such, it remains to be seen whether Korea’s Fourth
Master Plan for the Promotion of Social Enterprises (2023–2027), which calls for a complete shift
in the support paradigm by linking public support to social value assessment, will successfully
steer social enterprise promotion in a more sustainable and impactful direction.

Since the social enterprises discussed in this study are profit-oriented organizations with a social
purpose, they are still subject to taxation, except in the case of the Republic of Korea, where the
law allows both central and local governments to reduce or exempt national and local taxes for
social enterprises under legally defined conditions. That said, some countries, such as the United

Kingdom, have introduced tax relief measures for individuals who invest in social enterprises. In
contrast, the European Union does not have a unified legal standard regarding tax reductions or
exemptions, nor for tax relief incentives for investors in social enterprises. Practices vary among
member states according to their own legal frameworks. In Thailand, income tax exemption is
granted only to non-profit-distributing social enterprises, along with tax relief measures for
supporters or investors in such enterprises.

100 Jongmin Jeon et al., Diversity and the Influence of Social Enterprises in South Korea, Administrative Sciences, 5
December 2024, p. 3.
101 Ibid, Page 13.
102 YongJae Lee. (2020). Social Enterprises in South Korea: How Can They Create Both Trust and Social Capital, East
Asia Foundation, 24 March, แหล่งSource:
https://www.keaf.org/en/book/EAF_Policy_Debates/Social_Enterprises_in_South_Korea_How_Can_They_Create_
Both_Trust_and_Social_Capital
103 Jongmin Jeon et al., op. cit., p. 14.
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