Seoul City Signs MOU with Ministry of Land, Happiness Agency, and Korea Forest Service to Promote Wooden Architecture

MOU Signing at COEX on the 13th at 11 AM
Cooperation for Institutional Improvements to Promote Wooden Architecture

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is joining hands with domestic related organizations such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to promote the expansion of wooden public buildings and lead projects to revitalize wooden architecture.

Seoul announced on the 13th that it will sign a "Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Revitalization of Wooden Architecture" at 11 a.m. at COEX with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Administrative City Construction Agency (LH), and the Korea Forest Service to encourage eco-friendly wooden architecture and increase the utilization of domestic wood, which has a significant carbon reduction effect. The signing ceremony will be attended by Han Je-hyun, the 2nd Deputy Mayor of Seoul, Lee Won-jae, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Choi Im-rak, Deputy Director of LH, and Nam Sung-hyun, Commissioner of the Korea Forest Service.

This agreement was made to promote cooperation among institutions with goals such as the development of the domestic wood industry, creation of new markets, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector, and expansion of nature-friendly architectural spaces. The city explained, "Since 68.7% of greenhouse gases in Seoul are emitted from 'buildings,' reducing carbon emissions from buildings is key to becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2050."

The main contents of the MOU include ▲ discovering institutional improvements for revitalizing wooden architecture and supporting pilot projects ▲ supporting wood supply and promoting domestic lead projects for wooden architecture ▲ exchanging technology and information on wooden architecture ▲ promoting wooden architecture projects, sharing experiences, and publicizing achievements.

Major Cases of Wooden Architecture in Korea / Photo by Seoul City Hall

Among these, the city plans to actively create low-carbon eco-friendly urban spaces by promoting pilot projects for wooden architecture in new public buildings to raise citizens' interest in wooden architecture. To this end, a "Seoul Wooden Architecture Expert Advisory Group" composed of experts from public wooden architecture-related organizations will be operated to promote the pilot projects.

The city plans to continuously discover and expand areas where wooden architecture can be applied in future public building construction projects it commissions, while also encouraging autonomous districts to adopt wooden architecture in public buildings they commission.

Through this agreement, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to actively prepare institutional improvements and support measures to revitalize domestic wooden architecture.

LH is already expanding the application of wood finishes in public service spaces such as civil service offices in public buildings under design, and will gradually incorporate wood finishes and wooden structures in public buildings planned for construction in the future.

The Korea Forest Service will promote public sector wooden architecture projects to drive demand for wooden architecture using domestic wood. Additionally, it will conduct research to establish standard cost estimates to support quality improvement and cost reduction of wooden architecture.

Han Je-hyun, the 2nd Deputy Mayor of Seoul, said, "Wooden buildings have many advantages beyond what is known, such as low carbon emissions, strong insulation and earthquake resistance, and lower construction costs and time." He added, "Through this agreement, we will actively cooperate to spread wooden buildings throughout Seoul and help develop related industries such as the wood industry and eco-friendly architecture."