Minister Han Hwa-jin: "Fundamental National Drought Resolution Measures to Be Prepared Within the Year"

1st Anniversary Press Conference

Han Hwa-jin, Minister of Environment, stated, "We will prepare measures within this year to fundamentally resolve nationwide drought issues."

At a press conference marking the first anniversary of her inauguration held at the government Sejong Complex on the 9th, Minister Han said, "Extreme floods experienced last year and droughts continuing into this year are abnormal climate phenomena that may become more frequent and severe in the future. Therefore, we will continue water management measures based on science and practicality."

Minister Han emphasized, "We will actively utilize the four major river weirs and implement the dam-weir-tidal gate linked operation plan to actively respond to floods and droughts. We will also expand the mid- to long-term drought measures established in April for the Yeongsan and Seomjin River basins to other basins such as the Nakdong River, and prepare measures within this year to fundamentally resolve nationwide drought issues."

She added, "We will promote warm environmental policies that not only ensure stable water supply to island regions worried about restricted water use due to drought but also strengthen safety nets for environmentally sensitive groups and areas where environmental policy benefits, such as support projects for eco-friendly boiler distribution targeting low-income households, have not sufficiently reached."

She also emphasized fostering the green industry as a future growth engine. Minister Han explained, "We aimed to establish a foundation for fostering the green industry and supporting overseas expansion so that it can create a virtuous cycle by improving the quality of life for the people. From the 12th, I plan to visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt directly to introduce our green industry and discuss difficulties faced by local companies."

Han Hwa-jin, Minister of Environment, attended the Youth Environmental Forum held at Local Stitch in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 26th of last month, where she listened to young people's proposals on environmental policies and exchanged opinions.

Earlier, the Ministry of Environment set a goal of 100 trillion won in exports for the green industry during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. In March, together with the Presidential 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee (Carbon Neutral Committee), they announced the '1st National Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Basic Plan.' According to the basic plan, the carbon emission reduction target for the industrial sector by 2030 was lowered from the previous 14.5% to 11.4%, a reduction of 3.4 percentage points.

Minister Han stated, "Over the past year, I have continuously communicated on-site to solve practical problems that had been trapped in debates and to lay the foundation for future-oriented issues. I thought we should create environmental policies that the public can empathize with and that can lead the global environmental order and global standards, rather than policies shown only through words, slogans, or numbers."

She continued, "Especially in the circular economy sector, I felt while visiting sites that our country's policies are ahead not only of developing countries but also of advanced countries." She expressed her ambition, saying, "We will lead international discussions, including the 'Act on the Promotion of Transition to a Circular Economy Society' to be fully implemented from next year, activation of high-quality recycling, and response to the European Union (EU) plastics international agreement."

Finally, she pledged, "This year, I will visit sites more frequently and create regular communication channels with various experts, stakeholders, and especially young people to listen to their opinions. I will do my best to create and implement policies for the people and with the people."

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