Jeonju City Takes Off as a 'Fair Trade City'

On the 23rd, Jeonju Fair Trade City Certification Ceremony and Fair Trade Promotion Agreement Ceremony Held

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Han-ho] Jeonju City is soaring as a fair trade city that pays producers a fair price and supplies consumers with high-quality products through the ‘Fair Trade City Jeonju Certification Ceremony and Fair Trade Activation Agreement Ceremony.’

On the 23rd, Jeonju City held the ‘Fair Trade City Jeonju Certification Ceremony and Fair Trade Activation Agreement Ceremony’ at the 2nd-floor conference room of the Jeonbuk Consumer Information Center, attended by Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su, Kim Bo-geum, head of the Jeonbuk branch of the Korean Women’s Consumer Federation, Professor Kim Young-sun of Jeonbuk National University, Professor Heo Moon-kyung of Jeonju University, Chairman Jeong Yang-seong of the Jeonbuk Jeonju Supermarket Cooperative, and Pastor Yoo Jeong-in of Jeonju Shinil Church.

Fair trade, an ethical alternative trade that pays producers a fair price and supplies consumers with high-quality products, is a form of trade and social movement that emerged to solve problems such as wealth concentration, environmental destruction, labor exploitation, and human rights violations caused by unfair trade structures between developed and developing countries.

Jeonju City received certification as the 13th fair trade city in Korea and the first local government outside the metropolitan area from the Korea Fair Trade Town Committee last month, leading to this certification ceremony.

The fair trade city certification period is until September 22, 2023.

Following the certification ceremony, Jeonju City also held an agreement ceremony for fair trade activation with the Jeonbuk branch of the Korean Women’s Consumer Federation, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju University, Jeonbuk Jeonju Supermarket Cooperative, and Jeonju Shinil Church.

Through the agreement, each organization and institution pledged to take the lead in the fair trade village movement, focusing on △ education and promotion to improve awareness of fair trade △ active use of fair trade products at meetings and events △ cooperation in discovering fair trade sales and processing places.

Meanwhile, Jeonju City established a legal foundation by enacting the Jeonju City Ordinance on the Promotion and Support of Fair Trade in April 2018 and establishing and operating the Jeonju City Fair Trade Committee. In September 2019, it also signed a fair trade activation agreement with Jeonju University and the Korea Fair Trade Town Committee.

Additionally, to enable citizens to easily purchase and practice fair trade products in daily life, Jeonju City has worked to secure fair trade product sales outlets. As a result, excluding large corporate outlets such as Starbucks, it secured 31 outlets, exceeding the initial target of 26 outlets (one outlet per 25,000 population).

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr