Seoul City District Mayors Association Reviews and Approves 7 Agenda Items Including ESG Bank Designation for Decarbonization

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors (Chairman Dongjin Lee, Dobong District Mayor) held its 160th regular meeting on the 20th at 9:30 a.m. in the Planning Situation Room of Jongno District Office (temporary office), with 25 district mayors in attendance.

Before the meeting, the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors attended a lecture titled "Why ESG?" by Professor Choi Namsu of Seojeong University to promote the pioneering adoption of ESG in district administration, and discussed agenda items from each autonomous district during the regular meeting.

At the meeting, seven agenda items were reviewed and approved, including ▲ joint response by Seoul City and autonomous districts for connecting the GTX-D Seoul section ▲ recommendations for personnel and budget support for screening clinics ▲ amendment of laws related to rooftop solar panel installation in apartment complexes ▲ relaxation of standards for the obligation to return deposits for empty containers in small businesses ▲ improvement of ordinances related to parking unit sections for electric vehicle charging facilities. Additionally, time was allocated to discuss the "Joint Proposal by Seoul City Autonomous Districts on Property Tax Reduction," which was suggested by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon at the 159th regular meeting.

In particular, at the 160th regular meeting, active discussions were held regarding the designation of an "ESG Treasury," an expansion of the "Decarbonization Treasury."

Here, ESG stands for Environment, Social, and Governance, referring to corporate practices of environmental protection, support for socially vulnerable groups and social contribution activities, and ethical management that complies with laws and ethics.

The ESG Treasury is a broader concept than the Decarbonization Treasury, encompassing not only the organization's carbon neutrality practices for specific carbon neutrality goals but also the disclosure of financial institutions' investment portfolios.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors agreed at the meeting to promote the designation of Decarbonization and ESG Treasuries, reflecting fossil fuel investment performance and ESG implementation as evaluation indicators for designating district treasuries. The results of this meeting, where deliberations and decisions were made by each district mayor on individual agenda items, will be proposed to the central government and relevant departments of Seoul City.

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