Local Governments Leaders and Practitioners leading Sustainable Urban Future in the Republic of Korea have gathered to 2019 Annual Assembly of ICLEI Korea Members and shared their insights and experiences on Sustainable Development. 

On 28th of February, led by Director Park Yeonhee, the ICLEI Korea Office held ‘2019 Annual Assembly of ICLEI Korea Members’ in strong cooperation and support with Mayor of Changwon, Heo Seong-mu. During the Assembly more than 120 participants including political leaders, public officers, civil societies, NGOs and research institutes attended.

In the opening ceremony, featured local leaders shaping and leading a sustainable urban future in the Republic of Korea including Mayor of Changwon Heo Seong-mu, Mayor of Suwon Yeom Tae-yeong, Mayor of Dangjin Kim Hong-jang, and the Secretary-General of Local Sustainability Alliance of Korea Yang Jun-hwa dignified the Assembly, shared their insights and experiences on sustainable development, and discussed how LGs can contribute to the national sustainable development goals (K-SDGs) in line with their local SDGs.

Mayor of Changwon, Heo Seong-mu highlighted that “Changwon has put forth a special effort to make the city to be more sustainable in terms of environmental aspect. However, nowadays I realized that economic and social perspectives should be also integrated in order to bring a sustainable future.”

Mayor Kim Hong-jang from Dangjin emphasized the cross-sectoral collaboration in every division of Dangjin City Government to accomplish a truly sustainable growth. And he said that “For the further cooperation among all divisions of Dangjin City Government, I created the Sustainable Development Bureau under the immediate control of Mayor, and this system assists all departments to connect their main tasks & policies with the UN SDGs”.

Mayor of Suwon, Yeom Tae-young mentioned that “Since establishing a strong partnership is highly recommended for local governments to achieve UN SDGs at the local level, I have been highly emphasizing the participation of multiple stakeholders in the decision-making process through good governance”.

Wrapping-up the session, Secretary General of Local Sustainability Alliance of Korea, Yang Jun-hwa stated that “It’s been a wonderful time for us to listen to the Mayors’ voices and verify their enthusiasm on enhancing local sustainability”. And he made a final remark that “Through the Mayors’ panel discussion, we could reach a conclusion that the value of sustainable development should be highly considered and integrated when it comes to implementing local policy”.

In the Session I: ICLEI Briefing, General Manager of ICLEI Korea, Shim Hyun-min reported ICLEI Korea’s activities during the last year of 2018 and then introduced ICLEI Korea’s plan of programs and initiatives for 2019. She mentioned that “I sincerely ask all of you to actively participate in ICLEI Korea’s programs in 2019 and I am very confident that these efforts will contribute to elevating the overall sustainability of the cities and regions in South Korea”.

The last session II named ‘Talk4Action’ included the introduction of best-practices on local policies on sustainable development from five different cities including Changwon, Sejong, Asan, Bucheon, and Ulsan. Thereafter, group discussions on the five topics below have followed. It was meaningful that this session provided all participants with an opportunity to make their own voice and share the ideas on local sustainability with the local government officials from other cities and regions in South Korea. The topics dealt in Talk4Action are listed below:

• EcoMobility: Activation strategy on Zero-Emission Vehicle(ZEV) presented by Changwon City

• Green Public Procurement: Strategic plan for vitalization on GPP presented by Sejong Special Self-governing City

• Energy: Constructing eco-energy complex presented by Asan City

• Climate Change: Resilient city on climate change presented by Bucheon City

• Biodiversity: Ulsan’s effective countermeasures on rook’s frequent appearing and disappearing in the urban area presented by Ulsan Metropolitan City