Oh Se-hoon: "Yongsan International Business District to be Developed as a Global Eco-Friendly Complex"

Oh Se-hoon Inspects Eco-Friendly Development Complexes Including Manhattan WTC
Cooperates with Global Green Certification Bodies for 'Seoul-style LEED'

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is introducing the country's first eco-friendly and low-carbon evaluation and certification system for regional urban development, following the existing building-level evaluation and certification system. The regional eco-friendly evaluation and certification system is expected to be first applied to the Yongsan International Business District.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (left) is receiving an explanation about the facilities from an official underground at the World Trade Center Campus (WTC Campus) on the 18th (local time). / Provided by Seoul City [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 18th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon toured the World Trade Center (WTC) complex in Manhattan, New York, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) to establish the "Seoul Eco-friendly Urban Development Certification System."

USGBC is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that develops and operates LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), an eco-friendly evaluation and certification system. Since its development in 1989, LEED has been widely used across 190 countries worldwide as of 2022, with over 100,000 certification cases, making it a representative eco-friendly and low-carbon evaluation and certification system.

Overview of LEED ND Certification.
[Image provided by Seoul City]

So far, the city has operated certification systems focused on building units to reduce carbon emissions and ensure sustainability within the city. However, there has been no system in place to induce comprehensive eco-friendly planning at the block or regional level. Accordingly, the city plans to be the first in the country to introduce a system that can evaluate and certify development project plans on a broad scale at the regional development level, based on the globally recognized LEED.

After inspecting the World Trade Center complex, a large-scale eco-friendly urban development project with mixed uses such as business, transportation, commercial, and cultural facilities, Mayor Oh discussed cooperation plans for developing the "Seoul-type regional urban development eco-friendly and low-carbon evaluation and certification system" with Peter Templeton, President of USGBC. The city plans to jointly develop a regional eco-friendly and low-carbon evaluation and certification system suitable for Seoul's characteristics, tentatively named 'LEED ND SEOUL,' with USGBC's cooperation.

After the meeting, Mayor Oh explained, "The Yongsan International Business District will be able to apply nearly 100% renewable energy utilization, such as zero energy and carbon zero," adding, "It will become a symbolic space worldwide in terms of sustainability by minimizing carbon emissions and maximizing energy savings."

Meanwhile, prior to inspecting the World Trade Center complex, Mayor Oh toured the large-scale flood protection facility 'Big U,' currently under construction to protect the low-lying urban terrain from the East River on Manhattan's east side. 'Big U' introduces a new urban concept focusing on infrastructure and sustainability, aiming not only to protect the city from floods but also to expand public spaces, and is being developed through phased plans by district.