Incheon City Council 'Han River Estuary Neutral Zone Peace Settlement Support Ordinance' Enactment Forum

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Incheon Metropolitan Council is promoting the enactment of an ordinance to establish a foundation for the peaceful use of the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone and the free navigation of private vessels.

The Council's Administrative and Safety Committee held a forum on the 16th in the meeting room on the 2nd floor of the Council annex to discuss the enactment of the "Ordinance to Support Peace Settlement Activities in the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone in Incheon."

The forum was organized to discuss the direction and content of the ordinance aimed at supporting various public-private activities and establishing an organized system so that Incheon can take a leading role in the peaceful use of the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone and the foundation for free navigation of private vessels.

At the forum chaired by Park Sang-moon, co-representative of the Regional Culture Network, Dr. Nam Jeong-ho of the Korea Maritime Institute and Jeong Se-il, executive representative of the Life and Peace Forum, gave presentations on "Institutional Improvement Measures for the Peaceful Joint Use of the Han River Estuary" and "Directions for Enacting the Ordinance to Support Peace Settlement Activities in the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone," respectively.

Dr. Nam emphasized, "There are complex governance issues and conflicting interests surrounding the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone, and due to the absence of domestic legal systems and an agreed vision related to this, there are many constraints in promoting peaceful joint use projects of the Han River Estuary. Legal improvements that reflect these practical constraints and increase feasibility must be prioritized."

Following this, Executive Representative Jeong stated, "To secure the diversity and continuity of peace settlement projects such as the July 27 Han River Estuary Peace Boat Launch Project, and for Incheon to take the initiative in inter-Korean exchange projects, it is necessary to enact a separate ordinance. For this, it is important to promptly reach a consensus on peace settlement activities in the Han River Estuary Neutral Zone."

After the keynote presentations, Councilor Jo Seong-hye, Executive Committee Member Park Won-il of the West Sea 5 Islands Peace Movement Headquarters, Secretary-General Gu Young-mo of the Unification Democratic Council, and Chair Kim Soon-rae of the Ecological Conservation Committee of the Ganghwa Citizen Solidarity participated as discussants to deliberate on the necessity of establishing institutional grounds and the specific content and direction of the ordinance.

Councilor Jo pointed out, "The Han River Estuary Neutral Zone is a region of great historical, economic, and ecological value that needs to be developed as a peaceful cooperation space between the South and North. However, due to the interests of the international community and the lack of legal grounds, public-private activities are being restricted, which is regrettable."

She added, "We will comprehensively explore institutional support measures based on the forum's content so that public-private peace settlement activities can be systematically promoted and Incheon can lead as a West Sea Peace City."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.