SK Group said Tuesday its imprisoned chairman Chey Tae-won will support social enterprises by funding related start-ups through his own investment company.
The chairman, who is serving out a four-year prison sentence after being convicted for embezzlement in January 2013, injected his personal money worth 10 billion won ($8.8 million) into the company last year with an aim to nurture social enterprises whose profits are spent for social good.
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| SK chairman Chey Tae-won |
SK said five start-ups have been picked for the first round of funding. The recipient business owners are also graduates of an MBA program for social entrepreneurs set up by SK and KAIST in 2012.
The investment firm works on a new business model that can contribute to solving diverse social issues and developing a new ecosystem for them. As part of efforts to boost youth employment, more than half of the funding is given to young entrepreneurs.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
