Boryeong Mayor Um Seung-yong attended a "Carbon-Neutral Leading Cities Roundtable" held on September 22 at the Han River Flood Control Office in Seoul, where he shared the city's progress on carbon-neutral initiatives and requested government-level support, the city announced.
The roundtable was held to review promotion strategies and hear local government opinions ahead of full-scale project implementation for the successful establishment of carbon-neutral leading cities.
The roundtable, attended by around 20 people including Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) Minister Kim Sung-hwan, Mayor Um, and Dangjin Mayor Kim Ki-jae, proceeded with announcements of carbon-neutral leading city promotion plans, followed by hearing local government requests and comprehensive discussions.
Boryeong's Vision for Energy Transition
Mayor Um said, "Boryeong seeks to establish a representative model for transitioning from a carbon-centered city that once led national development to a carbon-neutral city. Our vision is to create a 'just energy and value transformation platform city' where fossil fuel-based industries are converted to new industries such as hydrogen, and citizens' daily carbon reduction activities are connected to value, all based on offshore wind power generation at a scale of 1.3 gigawatts."
Challenges and Support Requests
He added, "Although Boryeong has actively cooperated with the government's coal phase-out policy, since the early closure of Boryeong Thermal Power Units 1 and 2 in 2020, the local community has suffered significant damage, with the population falling below the 100,000 mark and regional gross product declining. For genuine just transition and balanced national development, we need whole-of-government support for energy infrastructure projects and the relocation of the newly launched integrated headquarters of Korea's power generation companies (Hanguk Baljeon) to South Chungcheong Province."
He also emphasized that the South Chungcheong west coast has sufficient foundations to lead national energy transition, with power generation and transmission infrastructure, idle sites, and specialized workforce accumulated over decades.
Local governments currently competing to attract the integrated headquarters include South Chungcheong Province, Jeollanam-do and Gwangju, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Busan.
Mayor Um also proposed reflecting transmission systems for alternative power generation following coal phase-out and additional grid connections through new transmission infrastructure construction. He also requested the government to pursue national power grid reinforcement projects for transmission system modernization to attract an AI data center to Boryeong's Ungcheon Industrial Complex.
Mayor Um said, "Boryeong's future requires active government support and cooperation. We will do our best to resolve pending issues so that the region can establish new growth foundations in the energy transition process, and will push forward with energy policies for Boryeong's future without delay."
Original Korean article: News1
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
