Mayor Donghwan Lee: "We Will Lead Carbon Neutrality with Digital-Based Resource Circulation Policies"

‘2025 Smart City Summit’ Day 2 CityCOP Forum... High-Level Session Presentation
Building a Sustainable Resource Circulation Model... Emphasizing International Cooperation for Future Generations
Visit to Taiwan Tainan Science Park... Sharing Global Economic City Strategies

Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced on the 22nd that it presented its vision for realizing a sustainable city under the theme "Reconsideration of Resources: The Path to a Circular City" at the ‘2025 Kaohsiung Smart City Summit’ CityCOP Forum held on the 21st.

Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, attended the Taiwan Kaohsiung Smart City Summit CityCOP Forum on the 21st and presented a vision for realizing sustainable cities under the theme "Reconsidering Resources: The Path to a Circular City." Photo by Goyang Special City

‘CityCOP’ is a platform where major agendas of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (UNFCCC COP) are discussed at the city level, attended by high-level city delegations, international organizations, industry, academia, and key figures from civil society.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan, who attended the high-level session, introduced Goyang City's resource circulation system and the use of digital technology, starting his presentation by stating, “We must recognize that resources are no longer infinite and move away from the linear flow of production, use, and disposal to create a sustainable circular model.”

Mayor Lee introduced detailed cases, saying, “Goyang City operates facilities for processing household and food waste, digitally monitoring in real time about 17,000 cubic meters of biogas and 275 gigacalories of waste heat generated daily, which are utilized in carbon emission trading.”

He continued, “Transparent PET bottles, aluminum, iron, and other materials that were previously discarded as waste are also collected through 26 ‘Resource Circulation Stores.’ With citizen participation, about 32,000 tons of high-quality recyclables were utilized as resources last year, resulting in a reduction of 456 tons of air pollutants.”

Kaohsiung Smart City Summit CityCOP Forum Panel Discussion (from left: Chair Kamyael Chao, CEO of ICDI; Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City; Ying Ying-lai, Director of the Resource Circulation Administration, Taiwan Ministry of Environment; Simone Zantholz, Head of the Urban Future and Sustainability Transition Program, United Nations University; Ji Hong-cheong, Special Assistant at Mingfu Group). Provided by Goyang Special City.

Additionally, he shared information on resource circulation projects such as the free home collection of waste electronic products (achieving 1,366 tons of recycling annually and a carbon reduction effect of 3,955 tons) and the large waste upcycling project (reducing 23,973 tons of waste).

Mayor Lee concluded, “For future generations, we will take the lead in international cooperation and policy dissemination to become a carbon-neutral city that proactively responds to the climate crisis based on digital technology and citizen participation.”

Prior to the CityCOP Forum, the launch ceremony of the ‘Climate Neutral and Smart City Practice Community (ComP)’ led by Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) was held.

ComP is a global platform for sharing solutions and knowledge for climate neutrality and smart cities, scheduled to operate until December 2026. Seven local governments participate, including Goyang City, Kaohsiung City, Yokohama City and Kyoto City in Japan, Batangas and Iloilo provinces in the Philippines, and Newcastle City in Australia.

After concluding the Smart City Summit schedule, Mayor Lee Dong-hwan visited the ‘Taiwan Tainan Science Park’ in Tainan City and held a meeting with Lin Xucheng, Deputy Director of the Southern Science Park Administration under the National Science and Technology Council.

Mayor Lee said, “The Taiwan Tainan Science Park is a key hub leading the economic and industrial development of southern Taiwan and is a representative example where global advanced companies, which Goyang City aspires to attract, reside and drive technological innovation and industrial development. This will serve as an opportunity to materialize a sustainable global economic city model.”

Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City (left), is walking with the Head of Investment Services at the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration (Tainan Science Park) after a meeting at the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration. Provided by Goyang Special City

In response, Deputy Director Lin Xucheng said, “We look forward to the successful promotion of the Goyang Free Economic Zone with global companies and anticipate a bright future for Goyang City.”

The Taiwan Tainan Science Park is a science and technology complex housing global semiconductor, electronics, machinery, and bio companies such as TSMC, UMC, AU Optronics, and Chicony Electronics.

Meanwhile, the ‘2025 Kaohsiung Smart City Summit,’ held until the 22nd, is an international event where major cities, companies, and experts from around the world gather to explore future urban development directions. Goyang City, the only city invited from Korea, is expected to strengthen cooperation and networks among important smart cities worldwide through this opportunity.