Press

The '2025 I'm in Busan Connecting Day' was successfully held at the Busan Eurasia Platform. UD Impact and SK Innovation E&S announced on the 19th that 'I'm in Busan,' a citizen-participation platform for solving community issues in Busan, has begun full-scale operations. A 'Connecting Day' event was also held to commemorate the platform's launch. 'I'm in Busan' embodies the meaning of "I'm in (I will participate)," and aims to create a sustainable future by encouraging citizens and stakeholders to actively participate in ESG activities and jointly practice social responsibility. This is a program where local government, businesses, academia, and citizens collaborate to solve regional community issues, and officially launched in July of last year. At this 'Connecting Day,' various local institutions including Busan City Hall, Busan Technopark, and the Busan Hydrogen Ship Technology Center participated, expressing great expectations for the changes that I'm in Busan will bring about. In particular, at this year's event, a total of 10 companies supported this year—including hydrogen and energy efficiency companies utilizing AI/DT—and previously supported companies gathered together to hold a talk concert on the themes of 'I'm in Busan' and 'Energy.' Each company added significant value by contemplating energy issues from perspectives related to their existing businesses and presenting creative solutions that could practically address them. Going forward, I'm in Busan plans to conduct various activities centered on 'Energy,' a theme directly selected by citizens this year. The plan is to enhance social awareness of the energy sector and seek concrete solutions through online platform operations for communication within the year, citizen participation events, policy seminars, and industry-university-research collaboration programs. In particular, Busan City, local universities, and various stakeholders will participate more actively to secure practical implementation capabilities through in-depth discussions. Participating companies will realize social value through business models based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while the organizing institutions will provide comprehensive support for their activities. UD Impact and SK Innovation E&S plan to take charge of platform operations this year as well, leading mutual growth between the region and businesses. An UD Impact official stated, "Through I'm in Busan, we will foster growth for both the region and businesses, and create tangible value through solidarity with the local ecosystem. We ask for the continued interest and active participation of Busan citizens." Meanwhile, UD Impact, under its new mission from startup education company 'Underdogs,' is leaping forward as an ESG solution company based on its experience in practical education that has fostered over 18,000 entrepreneurs over 10 years.