Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) Initiatives Toward Green Growth: Lessons from Korean Experience - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 346

Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) Initiatives
Toward Green Growth: Lessons
from Korean Experience

Suk-Chan Ko

Abstract The purpose of this article is to provide a more systematic understanding
of supporting mechanisms for Green Growth based on the experiences of
Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) development in South Korea. Since the enactment of ''the
Act to Promote Environmentally Friendly Industrial Structure'' in 1995, the central
government tried to establish a system for cleaner production and environmental
management system. In 2005, Korea had also launched an ambitious EIP initiative
under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy. The cases
of several pilot projects for EIP in Korea indicate that inappropriate selection of the
target industrial parks, conflicts of interests among stakeholders, poor planning,
and lack of financial support from the government deteriorated the vitality of the
project as a whole. The experience of EIP development in Korea shows that the
spontaneous and active participation through training programs for citizens and
government officials and the cooperation between the central and local government
can guarantee the success of EIP project in the future.

1 Introduction

In March 2005, the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environmental and Development
in Asia and the Pacific held in Seoul, Korea. Approximately 340 delegates partici-
pated and embraced the approach of environmentally sustainable economic growth.
The conference endorsed 'Green Growth' as a policy focus and a powerful strategy
to promote 'win-win' approaches in reconciling the conflict between the goal of
poverty reduction and the goal of environmental sustainability (ESCAP 2006 ).
The 'Green Growth' approach seeks to harmonize the two imperatives of
economic growth and environmental sustainability by promoting ''fundamental