2023-06-05 08:24:39
The Korea Environmental Council, a solidarity organization of 47 environmental groups, holds a press conference criticizing the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s “reversal of environmental policies” and is performing in front of the Korea University Inchon Memorial Hall in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, where the 38th “Environment Day” ceremony is held on the 5th. . Reporter Nam Jong-young
On June 5, 1972, the United Nations Declaration on the Human Environment was adopted. The United Nations designated this day as ‘World Environment Day’, and in 1996, Korea also adopted it as a legal anniversary, holding a commemorative ceremony at the government level every year. However, on the followingnoon of the 5th, when the 38th Environment Day ceremony was held, the Korea University Inchon Memorial Hall in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul was in a commotion even before the opening. A slogan of ‘Disbandment of the Ministry of Environment, resignation of the Minister of Environment’ resounded around the ceremony hall, and the attendees who saw this hurriedly entered the ceremony hall. Originally, the Ministry of Environment and environmental organizations maintain a tense relationship, while achieving governance (cooperation). However, the scenery on this day seemed to return to the line of the Lee Myung-bak administration, when the Four Major Rivers Project took place. There are three main reasons why the Ministry of Environment is being criticized for ‘reverse environment’ in this administration. The first is that carbon neutrality and energy policies have taken a step back, such as reducing the share of renewable energy and increasing the share of nuclear power plants. The second is to permit the Osaek Cable Car in Seoraksan Mountain, which the government had locked in for over 40 years. Lastly, it is criticized that the Ministry of Environment changed its existing stance for no particular reason on various issues, such as changing the strategic environmental impact assessment of Jeju 2nd Airport from ‘Companion’ to ‘Conditional consent’. As the policy consistency was damaged according to the taste of the government, the reliability of the environmental impact assessment also fell sharply.
At the press conference that day, slogans such as “Dissolution of the Ministry of Environment, resignation of the Minister of Environment” broke out. Reporter Nam Jong-young
The Korea Environmental Council, a solidarity organization of 47 environmental groups, held a press conference for nearly an hour before the start of the ceremony. In the presence of regarding 30 activists, the representatives of each group held a microphone and spoke passionately, citing examples of environmental policy retreats in their respective sectors. Bae Yeo-jin, an activist from the climate group Climate Solution, said, “The National Pension Service announced a withdrawal from coal investment two years ago, but rather increased its investment in fossil fuels.” “Where is the National Pension? The airport construction and national park development that the Ministry of Environment is trying to permit are things to emit, not to implement carbon neutrality.” Kang Eun-joo, head of the ‘Ecological Horizon’ research team, said that the Ministry of Environment recommended employees of environmental impact assessment review agencies such as the National Institute of Ecology to the Gadeokdo New Airport Promotion Team as advisory members in the strategic environmental impact assessment stage of Gadeokdo New Airport. It is no different.” He said, “After announcing the introduction of a simple evaluation system in the environmental impact assessment with the administration this time, the Gangwon-do Special Act handed over the evaluation authority (Seorak Mountain Osaek Cable Car) to the governor.” claimed to have occurred in Jeong In-cheol, secretary-general of the ‘Citizens’ Group Protecting National Parks’, pointed out, “The Ministry of Environment designated Mt. He said, “I am contemplating how long I can leave the management of the national park to the Ministry of Environment.” Environment Minister Han Hwa-jin had the exact opposite perception. “The international economic order is rapidly being reorganized around the environment, such as carbon trade barriers and international conventions on plastics,” he said at the Environment Day ceremony. Our government is preemptively responding to climate and environmental issues for the safety and future of the people,” he praised himself.
Minister of Environment Han Hwa-jin gives a speech at the 38th Environment Day ceremony held at the Inchon Memorial Hall of Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul on the followingnoon of the 5th. Provided by the Ministry of Environment
On this day, the Ministry of Environment awarded medals and decorations to nine people of merit in the environmental sector, including the Camellia Medal of the Order of Civil Merit. Citizens who were engaged in environment-related activities in the region or education field might not be found in the training and packaging list. Representatives of related companies such as hydrogen fuel cells accounted for the majority with 6 people, and environmental academics filled the rest with 3 people. At the beginning of this year, it seemed to reflect the intention of Environment Minister Han Hwa-jin, who presented an unfamiliar goal for the Ministry of Environment, ‘creating an export effect of 100 trillion won’. During the previous government, the environment day decorations and decorations were shared by the academic world, with civil society and industry sharing regarding half. From 2017 to 2021, when I visited the awardees of the Environment Day award and medal, 24 out of 42 recipients (57%) were from academia, and 9 each from companies and environmental groups (21.5%). On this day, the Ministry of Environment announced that it would launch a ‘Bye Bye Plastic’ campaign to coincide with Environment Day. The slogan put forward by the Ministry of Environment was “From now on, for a better future.” However, in order to reduce plastic and paper cups, the Ministry of Environment postponed the ‘disposable cup deposit system’, which was scheduled to be fully implemented in June last year, due to insufficient preparation, and has not even come up with a schedule for full implementation until now. Reporter Nam Jong-young [email protected]
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