SEOUL, KOREA - Yoon Seongkyu, Minister of the Environment for Korea gave a speech on the topic of ‘Environmental Welfare for a Healthy Future’ on May 24th. On the basis of growing fears that the current generation is leaving behind an unsustainable and largely polluted natural environment, Mr. Yoon’s speech emphasized that environmental issues can no longer be placed on the backburner, and that the time for action is now.
“The Park Geun-hye Administration will further develop the achievements of previous environmental policies and actively respond to newly emerging challenges,” he said. “We will therefore achieve our ultimate goal of realizing people’s happiness via the implementation of high quality environmental policies.”
The first step of the government assessment was identifying what it is that customers want, and how these demands can be met. This was conducted in a three-step manner. People today feel strongly about reducing the amount of exposure to environmental risks, such as chemical accidents and toxic algae bloom in the water supply. Citizens also want to have access to high quality environmental services in rural and urban areas. In order to leave behind a healthy Earth for future generations, it is important to reduce resources and energy consumption, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Realizing that the Earth does not belong solely to humans, the administration recognizes the need to promote biodiversity, and plans to build on the success of the increase in the number of endangered species that has taken place over the past thirty years from 92 to 246 at present.
Mr. Yoon then proceeded to outline and give a brief summary of the policies that the current administration plans to put into place. In order to provide a safer living environment, the number of environmental risk assessments will be increased on a per year basis from 15 in 2012 to roughly 300 by 2017. Substances that are deemed to be harmful for citizens will also be prohibited and or removed from the market to a greater extent by 2017. These safety precautions will be particularly strong for children, where the sale of dangerous toys will be reduced and safety inspection of playgrounds and other children zones will be increased to a great extent. Improvements will also be actively pursued to bettering the facilities available for children.
Another issue at hand is maintaining a clean water supply for citizens who use groundwater on a daily basis. Twelve new advanced wastewater treatment plants will be added in areas that run a high risk for algae bloom. On top of this, an active removal of phosphorus in water, known to accelerate algae bloom, will be put into place by 2015. If a situation does occur, local residents will be immediately informed, and steps will be taken to combat these issues pre-emptively. Agricultural waste such as plastics and pesticide containers will be intensively collected in the months of April and October, and in turn these recyclable products will be converted into available resources. Plans are in place to put more pressure on producers to take responsibility for the proper recycling of their products.
He continued by addressing the need for environmental services that ultimately lead to an increase in citizens’ happiness.
Air quality has become a pressing issue in many East Asian cities, and citizens are demanding a change to clean up the air they breathe. In order to help improve overall air quality, a warning system will be implemented in July to warn citizens when fine particulate matters exceed 2.5. In order to clean up the emissions from gas fueled automobiles, financial incentive offers of KRW 15 million per car will be available for consumers choosing to switch to electric vehicles. Also, a ‘Low-carbon vehicle cooperation charge’ will be put into place in order to promote the use of compact vehicles.
To meet the growing demand for green spaces, new eco trails will be added to urban spaces for the disabled and elderly who may be hesitant to use the trails that are currently available. On top of this, the construction of 20 new urban nature gardens and 13 miniature ecosystems will take place in order ensure a cleaner environment as well as providing comfortable green spaces where citizens can relax. In order to promote biodiversity, the establishment of the National Ecological Institute will take place in the second half of 2013. Within neighborhoods themselves, new rules will be implemented to reduce conflicts that are caused between neighbors in close proximity as a result of excess noise.
It is evident that none of these solutions will have the desired long-term effects if they are not sustainable. It is important that strong linkage is established between development and environmental plans moving forward in order to ensure that environmental stipulations are met and maintained as developers continue to move into new areas. Environmental assessments will be conducted at the planning, implementation, and operational stages of development.
The importance of proper resources management can clearly not be overstated. To transition into a resource-recirculating society, steps are being taken to heighten the responsibility of consumers to properly discharge and recycle their waste. With this waste, a greater amount of energy will be recovered and put back into various sectors. This will be furthered by the implementation of recycling targets in a variety of sectors and industries. The goal of this is to create a sustainable cycle that will leave no burden in terms of waste disposal responsibilities for the next generation.
It is also imperative that environmental industries are fostered and provided with ample support in order to help enhance the creative economy and nurture new ideas that will help improve the environment moving forward. There are a number of plans in place to do so, including creating a firm foundation for the commercialization of environmental technologies, such as the Daegu Water Cluster and Sudokwon Environmental Industry Complex that are currently in operation. Over the course of the next five years, the government plans to nurture 100 medium-sized environmental enterprises and is hopeful that this will lead to 10 trillion won in exports. Also important is the escalating need for job creation throughout the economy as a whole. The government estimates that over the course of the next five years, their proposed plans will lead to the creation of 70,000 new jobs in the environmental sector.
Lastly, the government will closely monitor current plants in operation in order to ensure that they are adhering to strict environmental policies. Industrial companies will be required to renew their licenses every five to ten years and show that they are comprehensively reducing the amount of pollutants that they are emitting into the environment.
All told, the Ministry of the Environment realizes that environmental issues pose a grave challenge, and are attempting to tackle these issues head on from a multi-faceted approach. The current administration is confident that these changes will help leave behind a new era of hope, a healthy and happy Korea for future generations.
