KT&G (CEO Baek Bok-in) has been awarded a presidential commendation at the government award ceremony for the "2021 Social and Economic Merits" organized by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on July 2.

The award ceremony was held to discover successful business models in the field of social economy and to reward institutions and individuals who contributed to the realization of social values. KT&G won the presidential commendation in the social value realization category in recognition of its young startup support projects and assistance for the socially disadvantaged.

KT&G has been running the Sangsang Startup Camp since 2017 to discover and foster socially-minded entrepreneurs who would like to make contributions in promoting environmental causes and providing jobs to the underprivileged. Up to this year, 97 startup teams have been produced through the fifth operation, of which 36 have been selected by the government for its entrepreneurship development projects. The Sangsang Startup Camp attracts new investments and provides networking opportunities through "The Debut" event, through which participating teams share their achievements and success stories. So far, the camp has recorded 745 employments and cumulative sales of about 19.8 billion won.

To revitalize the youth startup ecosystem, KT&G Sangsang Planet was launched in July 2020 at the Social Venture Valley in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu. "KT&G Sangsang Planet" runs various programs such as Planet Campus, which provides help in the area of marketing and legal service for early startups, and Wellness Planet, which promotes exchanges among startups to establish a stable foundation. Recently, KT&G has also opened a youth startup center at Sangsang Madang Busan, a complex cultural and artistic space, to support the growth of local young entrepreneurs.

Lee Sang-hak, vice president of KT&G and head of the Sustainable Management Division, said "With this award, our contribution to the revitalization of youth startups and efforts to realize social values have been recognized. We will continue to support social and economic causes."

(Photo 1) KT&G received a presidential commendation at the government award ceremony for "2021 Social and Economic Merits." In the photo, Lee Sang-hak, head of KT&G's Sustainable Management Division (right) is taking a commemorative photo while attending the award ceremony.