Mayor Yeom Tae-young: "Building Foundation for Sustainable Development Through Local Autonomy"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young emphasized that “we must establish the foundation for sustainable development through the realization of local autonomy and decentralization.”

Mayor Yeom attended the ‘2019 Republic of Korea Sustainable Development Conference’ SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Summit Round Table Forum held on the 25th at Geoje Culture and Arts Hall in Geoje City, Gyeongnam Province, in his capacity as chairman of the Conference of Mayors and Governors of Korea.

Mayor Yeom emphasized that “in order to establish and achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) suited to regional conditions, ‘local autonomy and decentralization’ centered on citizens must be realized.” He added, “Through the realization of local autonomy and decentralization, we will be able to implement policies that bring out regional diversity. Local governments and citizens must join forces to build the foundation for sustainable development.”

The ‘2019 Republic of Korea Sustainable Development Conference’ was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Gyeongnam Province, Geoje City, and the 2019 Republic of Korea Sustainable Development Conference Organizing Committee.

Panelists at the forum included Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, Park Cheon-gyu, Vice Minister of Environment, Kim Kyoung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, Kim Seung-soo, Mayor of Jeonju, Byeon Gwang-yong, Mayor of Geoje, and Park Yeon-hee, Director of ICLEI Korea Office. Topics discussed included ▲local decentralization and sustainable development goals ▲cooperation between central and local governments ▲sustainable development and happiness ▲energy transition and climate change response.