In Korea, the number of 3rd sector organizations are increasing, which is a part of the social welfare system that has received attention since the early 2000s. This study utilizes official and unofficial documents and assumes that around 4,200 organizations are working actively in Seoul. About 20% of nonprofit organizations in Seoul are working in the social welfare field. And social economic organizations are working to create jobs for the weak, offer social services, and use the profits for the benefit of society. It seems that the 3rd sector organization’s participation in social welfare field is going well.
This study analyzes the social welfare activities of a 3rd sector organization in Mapo-gu through a case study. The strength and potential of the 3rd sector organization are as follows. Firstly, the 3rd sector organization has the potential to take care of residents who do not receive welfare services from the government. Secondly, due to the welfare business of the 3rd sector organization, the relationships between the weak and local residents are built, thus helping the weak participate in society. Thirdly, the 3rd sector organizations of the social welfare field are now expanding their domain by making connections with each other to provide various kinds of welfare services, such as energy welfare programs or cultural programs. Fourthly, they are also propelling niche programs that the community demands but were not possible for the government to provide.
There are several limitations for the social welfare activities of the 3rd sector organization. Firstly, with the voluntary way the 3rd sector organization has appeared, it is hard to provide services for the elderly who are unable to take care of themselves. This service requires high costs and consistency, so it is hard to be actualized. A second limitation is the possibility of stopping the welfare services that are provided by the 3rd sector organization. Generally, the 3rd sector organizations utilize volunteers and enterprise funds to provide the services. However, if this outside support gets cut, it is possible that the service being provided would be interrupted as well. Thirdly, most of the community-based 3rd sector organizations have only one employee who covers the group tasks as well as the small scaled budget system, thus the services provided by the organization are restricted.
Recently, the social welfare state is a big issue for our society. It is assumed that the role of the 3rd sector organization will be expanded in the near future. This study started with a lack of information on the 3rd sector organization’s social welfare activities. Under this circumstance, this study reveals the potential and limitations of the 3rd sector organizations’ social welfare activities by utilizing a case study which is a qualitative research method.