[Feature Report] Jeonnam Nong-eochon Corporation Explores the Potential of 'Local Extinction' ②

Regional Specialized ESG Management... Leading the Spread of Public Interest Values

Expansion of Eco-friendly Projects and Drought Countermeasures in Island Areas

Expansion of Agricultural Experiences and Discovery of Governance to Overcome Local Extinction

ESG management has established itself as a global trend and has rapidly emerged as a key factor determining the growth success of nations beyond individual companies. Evaluation of ESG is also an essential element in public institutions. In line with this trend, the Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of the Korea Rural Community Corporation is gaining attention for practicing region-specific ESG management with visible achievements.

▲E (environment) Expansion of eco-friendly projects and drought countermeasures in island areas

The Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of the Korea Rural Community Corporation conducting groundwater drilling investigation in Wando.
[Photo by Korea Rural Community Corporation Jeonnam Regional Headquarters]

The environmental sector is the most prominent area of achievement at the Jeonnam Headquarters. It is broadly divided into energy and water supply for island regions.

The Jeonnam Headquarters supports improving the management conditions and competitiveness of farming and fishing households and establishing a foundation for eco-friendly management through energy-saving projects. The main projects involve supplying energy-saving facilities such as geothermal, heat pumps, and inverters to horticultural farms and fisheries that primarily use fuel oil.

The reason Jeonnam Headquarters is particularly notable is that these projects account for half of the corporation’s total project ratio. In fact, this year, 23 billion KRW worth of projects were implemented for horticulture and aquaculture farming households.

The second achievement is water supply for island areas. In the southern region, the drought that continued since last winter was not easily alleviated. As meteorological drought persisted, island areas with no water sources faced especially severe difficulties.

Amid these challenges, the Jeonnam Headquarters signed an agreement with Wando County and succeeded in developing emergency groundwater, supplying 1,450 tons of water per day. Including Geumil Island in Wando, electrical surveys and drilling investigations were conducted on four islands, resulting in the successful development of 13 groundwater wells.

With the recent increase in water-scarce areas due to abnormal climate, the Jeonnam Headquarters plans to continue providing specialized technical support to secure water resources in small island areas and contribute to stabilizing water supply.

▲S (social contribution) Expansion of local residents’ agricultural experience at ‘Healing Farms’

Agricultural infrastructure has long gone beyond facilities solely for agriculture. Beyond the direct function of food production, its value and significance extend across environment and tourism, bridging rural and urban areas.

Jangseong Seongsan Elementary School students are experiencing crop planting at Jangseongho Healing Farm.
[Photo by Korea Rural Community Corporation Jeonnam Regional Headquarters]

Especially after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of rural areas and agriculture has begun to be newly recognized. Accordingly, the Jeonnam Headquarters has led nationwide agricultural experience programs by expanding the Healing Farms from Jangseongho, started in 2021, to 17 locations this year.

The Jeonnam Headquarters provides vacant land and operating expenses of agricultural infrastructure facilities and establishes a system where schools and welfare facilities operate agricultural experience programs. In 2023, welfare facilities for the disabled were added, receiving high satisfaction from users.

In fact, a satisfaction survey of Healing Farm participants showed that over 90% were satisfied with the programs, and teachers operating the programs noted that participation helped improve the physical functions and concentration of students and disabled individuals.

The Jeonnam Headquarters plans to continue collaborating with local governments, education offices, and other institutions to promote healing through agricultural experiences for local residents and to raise awareness of the multifaceted value of agriculture.

▲G (governance) Discovery of regional cooperation governance models to overcome local extinction

G refers to decision-making that enhances the sustainability of environment (E) and society (S). In the case of the Jeonnam Headquarters, it is pursuing rural spatial recovery through the Jeonnam Rural Space Forum, which includes local governments such as Jeonnam Province, related research institutions, and external experts.

Through the forum, external experts urged the headquarters to collaborate with local governments and produce results in response to the accelerating local extinction, while employees explored areas that could lead to tangible outcomes.

The first achievements appeared in winning the public youth rental housing project in Goheung County and participating in the Sangsa-hwa Stay complex space creation project in Yeonggwang County. Under the pressure that region-specific new projects using local extinction response funds must bear fruit on the ground, the experience and know-how of the Jeonnam Headquarters shone.

Umabil, which was submitted as an in-house venture of the Korea Rural Community Corporation, was finally selected, and the Jeonnam Regional Headquarters received a certificate of commendation (from left in the photo: Youngho Cho, Regional Head; Hyojin Jeong, Head of Rural Development Department)
[Photo by Korea Rural Community Corporation Jeonnam Regional Headquarters]

Recently, another achievement was added. ‘Umabil’ (We Rent Our Village), proposed as an in-house venture of the corporation, was finally selected, enabling the full-scale research, experimentation, and field application of a regional revitalization model.

‘Umabil’ mainly involves introducing a sharing economy to idle rural facilities to utilize them as hub facilities and creating shared villages that can resolve mutual deficiencies between urban and rural areas. It is expected to become a new policy alternative to local extinction by discovering and commercializing rural space revitalization models through sharing.

Director Cho Young-ho said about the ESG management of the Jeonnam Regional Headquarters, “For sustainable development, the future must be found in ESG based on the public nature, which is the original function of public institutions, combined with efficiency and profitability.” He added, “The Jeonnam Regional Headquarters continues efforts to fully utilize the uniqueness and excellence of our region.”

He continued, “We will do our best to create results that local residents can feel in the future.”

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong yjm3070@asiae.co.kr