Lee Jeong-hee, Head of Planning and Budget Division, Seongdong-gu, Revealed in Ph.D. Dissertation in Urban Engineering at Hanyang University Graduate School of Urban Studies on February 25, 2023... 2nd Place Seongnam Sewage Treatment Plant, 3rd Place Cheongju Sewage Treatment Plant
The facility that received the highest score in the modernization (consolidation) project of sewage treatment plants, which are perceived as urban nuisance facilities, was revealed to be the Jungnang Water Reclamation Center located in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, the first sewage treatment facility in Korea.
Following this, the 2nd place was the Seongnam Sewage Treatment Plant in Gyeonggi-do, 3rd place the Cheongju Sewage Treatment Plant in Chungbuk, 4th place the Gulpo Sewage Treatment Plant in Bucheon City, and 5th place the Nanji Water Reclamation Center managed by Seoul City located in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.
This was presented in the doctoral dissertation titled “Analysis of the Importance of Idle Land Regeneration and Its Application - Focusing on Cases of Aging Sewage Treatment Plants” by Lee Jeong-hee, Ph.D. in Urban Engineering at Hanyang University Graduate School of Urban Studies, held on February 25 last month.
Dr. Lee, currently serving as the Head of the Planning and Budget Division in Seongdong-gu, attracted attention by demonstrating the determination to earn this degree after completing three years of doctoral studies.
Dr. Lee stated, “Korea’s first sewage treatment plant was the Cheonggye Sewage Final Treatment Plant (currently Jungnang Water Reclamation Center), and since its establishment, it has been increasing annually due to urban population growth,” adding, “As facilities have increased over more than 30 years, safety issues due to aging facilities have been raised.”
In response to this awareness, the dissertation selected four major categories and sixteen important factors through prior research and expert group interviews for selecting key factors, conducted surveys, and performed an AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) analysis. The major categories were ranked as follows: ▲Sustainability aspect 0.315 ▲Environmental aspect 0.289 ▲Physical aspect 0.205 ▲Social aspect 0.191.
In the important factor importance section, ▲Creation of sustainable added value ranked 1st ▲Environmental comfort 2nd ▲Unique concept that makes people want to revisit ranked 3rd.
In particular, the study on the application of measurement indicators for important factors to be considered when regenerating large-scale idle land of national and public land targeted facilities that have aged over 20 years since completion and have a daily treatment capacity of over 50,000 ㎥.
The dissertation standardized the measurement indicator data by converting it to Z-scores, assigned scores from 1 to 5 by grade from -3 to 3 in the overall distribution, multiplied by the weight values of the 16 indicators, summed them, and ranked the facilities.
As a result, the facility that received the highest total score of measurement indicators was the Jungnang Water Reclamation Center.
Dr. Lee Jeong-hee stated, “This study is significant in that it provided a practical guideline enabling local governments to establish comprehensive plans by considering not only the physical and environmental factors of the target site but also the social factors of the surrounding area and sustainability factors when promoting modernization projects of aging sewage treatment plants in the future.”
She added, “It also aims to contribute to distinguishing facilities that can be developed in the future and suggesting corresponding policy directions.”
Dr. Lee Jeong-hee earned her master's degree in 2017 at Hanyang University with a thesis on “Importance Evaluation of Gentrification Prevention Measures Using AHP,” and then entered the doctoral program, completing three years and earning her Ph.D. with a theme on sewage treatment plant issues, which had been scarcely addressed.
Currently serving as the Head of the Planning and Budget Division in Seongdong-gu, Dr. Lee Jeong-hee is recognized for her capabilities, having served twice as the head of the district’s Planning and Budget Division.
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