[Interview] Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor: "Focusing on Creating a Region-Specific, Proactive Carbon Neutral City"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park]

Paradigm shift to ‘active reduction’ for carbon-neutral cities... Emphasizing community-wide practice of carbon-neutral living

Making 2023 the ‘Year One of Carbon Neutrality Practice’ in Seongdong-gu and launching tailored local climate crisis response measures

"Now is the time when ten people taking one step each is more urgent than one person taking ten steps."

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said this while explaining the new year’s administrative direction for the Year of the Black Rabbit (Gyemyo-nyeon) in a New Year interview.

Recently, Korea’s climate has rapidly changed, with the traditional winter pattern of ‘Samhan-Saon (three cold days and four warm days)’ disappearing, replaced by continuous heavy snow and cold waves. In August, record-breaking heavy rains caused significant damage. In response, Seongdong-gu is implementing the ‘Seongdong-gu Climate Change Response Plan’ to establish itself as a leading carbon-neutral city by 2050, taking concrete and systematic measures against climate change.

Global warming is no longer a distant issue. In December 2020, the government established and submitted to the UN the national greenhouse gas reduction targets and the ‘National 2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy,’ making the role of local governments as practical implementers of the 2050 carbon neutrality strategy and the Green New Deal extremely important. Mayor Jung emphasized, “For carbon neutrality, the paradigm must shift from passive practice to ‘active reduction.’”

Specifically, to build a foundation for carbon neutrality implementation following the enforcement of the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act, Seongdong-gu established the ‘Seongdong-gu Mid- to Long-term Climate Change Response Plan’ in March 2022 and enacted the Basic Ordinance on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth to respond to the climate crisis.

Additionally, to reflect expert and resident opinions in the decision-making and implementation processes of climate change policies, a ‘2050 Seongdong-gu Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Committee’ was formed with 20 members including the mayor. The committee held its first regular meeting in September 2022. Furthermore, Seongdong-gu became the first autonomous district in Seoul to designate the Director of the Smart Inclusive City Bureau as the ‘Carbon Neutrality Implementation Officer’ under the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act.

Mayor Jung said, “With the creation of the cafe street in Seongsu-dong, the amount of coffee grounds waste has increased. Seeing the potential of coffee grounds as another energy source, we gave much thought to their utilization.” He added, “After discussions with staff, we approached the issue policy-wise by signing agreements with related companies to improve the collection system and enhance economic feasibility through recycling.”

The district collaborated with 210 local cafes to collect coffee grounds that would otherwise be discarded as waste and implemented the Seongdong-type coffee grounds recycling project, which reprocesses them into resources such as wood and plastic. It also pioneered the Seongdong-type resource circulation model through a smart separation system for recyclables like paper packs and ice packs, and a big data-based household waste reduction system.

Through the operation of 112 ‘Seongdong Purumi Recycling Stations,’ which install separate collection bins at key residential locations, the recycling sorting rate in Seongdong-gu rose from 55% in 2020 to 76% currently. This far exceeds the average sorting rate of 60.1% among 14 public sorting facilities in Seoul’s autonomous districts in 2021.

Mayor Jung emphasized, “Community-wide practice of carbon-neutral living is most important for the successful transition to a carbon-neutral society.” He continued, “If the average temperature rises by 1.5℃ due to global warming, it could be catastrophic for humanity. It is time to start practicing from small daily habits such as reducing disposable products.”

Seongdong-gu operates various environmental programs such as training carbon dieters, mobile climate change classrooms, environmental academies, and on-site education at resource recovery centers to raise residents’ awareness of carbon neutrality. It has also strengthened public-private governance through green apartment projects centered on apartment communities.

On December 23, the district held its first environmental event, ‘The Only Earth,’ providing opportunities to promote carbon-neutral living practices through eco-friendly experiential activities.

Mayor Jung stated, “We will make 2023 the ‘Year One of Carbon Neutrality Practice’ in Seongdong-gu and implement various policies to spread public consensus on carbon neutrality.” He added that environmental education tailored to different groups such as children, adolescents, and adults will be conducted. To expand eco-friendly transportation infrastructure, the district plans to provide up to an additional 1 million KRW subsidy on top of the government subsidy for electric vehicle purchases and will continuously expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure to minimize residents’ inconvenience.

Moreover, alongside carbon reduction, policies to expand carbon sinks such as urban forests that absorb carbon emitted into the air will be pursued. The district is also planning the ‘Seongdong-type Green Carbon Zone’ project based on resident participation, as efficient implementation of carbon neutrality requires both reduction and absorption.

Mayor Jung concluded, “We will continue to develop various climate crisis response measures suited to local conditions and promote Seongdong-gu as a leading carbon-neutral city. We will do our best on the journey to build a foundation for a carbon-neutral society for future generations and leap forward as a sustainable city.”