Busan is good

A Sustainable Busan: Opening of the Gangseo Branch of the “Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Center”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will hold an opening ceremony at 2:00 p.m. today (29th) for the Gangseo branch of the “Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Center.”

The ceremony is scheduled to be attended by Mayor Park Heong-joon, Gangseo-gu District Mayor Kim Hyeong-chan, Hyundai Department Store CEO Jeong Ji-young, Kim Yeong-beon, Head of the Communications Division at Lotte Chemical, as well as representatives from Busan Bank and the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged.

Opening Ceremony Overview

• ●Date/Time/Location: 2:00 p.m., Thu., Jan. 29, 2026 / Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Center, Gangseo Branch (Myeongji-dong, Gangseo-gu)

• ●Participating Organizations: Busan Metropolitan City, Gangseo-gu, Hyundai Department Store, Lotte Chemical, Busan Bank, Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged

• ●Key Program: Welcome remarks, progress report and project briefing, ribbon-cutting ceremony and commemorative photo session, facility tour, etc.

The sixth center opening today (Gangseo) is an example of repurposing the former Nakdong Home Care Senior Care Center, which had been closed, by renovating it and reusing it as an “Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Center.”

By transforming an idle facility, the City has assigned it a new role as a “hub for practicing sustainable environmental protection.”

The center will be operated with a focus on environmental practices and community activities, reflecting local conditions and resident demand in an area adjacent to the Myeongji District and Eco Delta City. It is expected that all residents will be able to encounter and practice Social Value Management (ESG) as part of their everyday lives within their local community.

At the Gangseo branch, the City will operate resource-circulation activities related to Social Value Management (ESG) and hands-on programs with resident participation, including: education focused on environmental protection and carbon neutrality practices; hands-on experiences in resource circulation and eco-friendly lifestyle practices; resident-participatory Social Value Management (ESG) activities; and community programs to address local issues. Through these efforts, the City plans to enhance residents’ awareness of Social Value Management (ESG) and foster the spread of a voluntary culture of practice.

To proactively respond to the European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)*, which will take effect this year, the City plans to collaborate with local public and private enterprises to open up to 16 “Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Centers” within this year.

• ●European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): A system that imposes costs on certain products—such as steel, aluminum, fertilizers, and cement—produced in non-EU countries and imported into the EU, functioning as a form of carbon tariff (effective January 1, 2026).

In addition, the City plans to strengthen the environmental education and publicity functions of each center by considering the characteristics of each area, and to support the spread of Social Value Management (ESG) culture throughout local communities through collaboration with districts/counties and the private sector.

The “Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Center” is one of the community-based policies for building a 15-minute city, aimed at fostering sustainable local communities through education, experiential learning, and communication spaces grounded in resident participation.

Through the operation of these centers, the City has achieved outcomes such as: ▲creation of approximately 3,500 senior jobs ▲collection of 126 tons of plastic ▲environmental education and hands-on experiences for approximately 20,000 participants. The centers have been recognized both domestically and internationally as exemplary cases of Social Value Management (ESG) in practice.

Mayor Park Heong-joon is expected to state, “The ‘Our Neighborhood Social Value Management (ESG) Center’ is a community-based carbon neutrality hub built by our own hands in our neighborhoods. It is a community model that connects generations—from creating jobs for seniors to providing environmental education for children—and a partnership model in which the public sector, private sector, and businesses work together. We will continue to expand Social Value Management (ESG) policies and further strengthen Busan’s future competitiveness as a sustainable city created together with our citizens.”