Seoul City and Deoksu Middle School Launch First Public-Private-Academic Partnership for School Greening Project

Jung-gu, Daewoo Construction, Deoksu Middle School, and Others Collaborate in Public-Private-Academic Partnership
Planting Trees and Herbaceous Plants Including White Horse Chestnut in Playground Vacant Lot

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 12th that it completed the greening work of planting trees around the playground of Deoksu Middle School through an urban greening project in collaboration with Jung-gu District, Daewoo Construction, and Deoksu Middle School on the 9th.

Seoul City signed the ‘2021 School Greening Project Business Agreement’ with Jung-gu, Daewoo Construction, and Deoksu Middle School on February 26 and has been promoting the greening project since then. Seoul City and Jung-gu supported the project planning, site selection, and tree planting methods, while Daewoo Construction provided technical and financial support. Deoksu Middle School is responsible for the maintenance and management of the green space.

Officials from Seoul City, Jung-gu, Daewoo Construction, and Deoksu Middle School participated together in the tree planting process. They safely took part while strictly adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines such as temperature checks, hand sanitization, and wearing masks.

This project is part of Seoul City’s urban greening campaign ‘Seoul, Blooming with Flowers,’ which has been implemented for eight years since 2013. It is the first school greening project jointly conducted by the public, private, and academic sectors. Until now, the city has expanded its public-private cooperative greening projects, which were linked to corporate social responsibility activities, from bus stops, school routes, playgrounds, and parks to schools.

The ‘Seoul, Blooming with Flowers’ campaign is a citizen-led urban greening project initiated by the city in 2013. It supports planting flowers and trees throughout neighborhoods such as alleys and apartment complexes to bring green vitality across Seoul.

So far, Seoul City has promoted various urban greening projects linked to corporate social responsibility activities. Over the past eight years, it has carried out 106 greening projects with 196 companies, attracting about 17.5 billion KRW in private capital, and is recognized as a successful case of public-private cooperation. From the corporate perspective, it not only allows companies to continue their social contribution activities in landscaping but also enhances corporate image, leading to continuous participation.

Choi Yoon-jong, Director of the Green City Bureau, said, “This project is especially meaningful as it is the first school greening project carried out through cooperation among the public, private, and academic sectors. I hope that during these difficult times due to COVID-19, students and staff can relieve some stress by seeing flowers and trees and study in a pleasant environment.”