Seongdong-gu Sustainable Development Committee Launched, 'ESG' Discussions Begin

On the 22nd, Seongdong-gu Launches Sustainable Development Committee with Experts in Economy, Society, and Environment... A Strong Leap Forward to Reassess District Policies' Sustainability and Enhance ESG Implementation Completion

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) launched the ‘Sustainable Development Committee (hereafter Committee)’ on the 22nd to create a sustainable city in Seongdong-gu.

In the era of ESG, which stands for Environment (E), Social (S), and Governance (G), the role and efforts of public institutions for future generations are increasingly important. As long-term and strategic policies are emphasized, the Committee plans to focus on deliberating and advising on broad and mid-to-long-term policies in cooperation with experts, aiming to enhance the effectiveness of related policies from the perspective of sustainability.

The Committee, appointed to efficiently promote sustainable development tasks across the entire district administration, consists of a total of 25 members.

It is composed of the co-chairman, the Mayor of Seongdong-gu, 17 appointed members who are experts in sustainable development fields such as economy, society, and environment, and 7 heads of various departments and offices. Among them, including co-chairman Kim Kyung-min, the members are authoritative experts in ESG-related fields.

The Committee will carry out deliberations and consultations on matters such as the establishment and modification of the basic plan, preparation of sustainable development indicators, sustainability evaluation, and reporting during its two-year term (until October 21, 2023).

At the first regular meeting held on this day, the Committee elected Professor Kim Kyung-min of Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Environmental Studies as co-chairman and subsequently formed four subcommittees in the areas of economy, environment, society, and governance.

Starting with this meeting, which reexamined district policies from the perspective of sustainability and provided direction, the Committee will focus on in-depth discussions on the basic sustainable development plan and development indicators, building the Seongdong model for a sustainable development city, spreading ESG values and consensus, and exploring concrete measures to realize these goals.

Previously, the district established a basic plan to achieve 17 goals for sustainable development, setting 113 implementation tasks linked to 56 detailed objectives. These tasks are connected to performance indicators by the responsible departments to measure goal achievement and evaluate sustainability through feedback.

In July, the district enacted and promulgated the 「Seongdong-gu Sustainable Development Basic Ordinance」, providing a legal basis for practical plan establishment. The 17 goals reflecting Seongdong’s characteristics will be implemented according to the principle of sustainable development, concretized through this Committee, and the completeness of realization will be enhanced.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Sustainability is an important value that we must pursue in the long term.” He added, “Together with this Committee, we will firmly establish the policy goals we must pursue, prepare concrete realization plans for ‘Sustainable Development City, Seongdong’ leading ESG, and take strong steps forward for future generations.”