Environmental Justice in Korea �-In Times of Environmental Crisis-

Geonmoo Lee, Hunsung Kim, Hyojung Han, Suhwoo Kim

Is the Earth really warming up?

Rise of surface temperature

& sea level

(IPCC, 2007)

Rise of temperature

(IPCC, 2013)

Annual Average

10 Year Average

Is the Earth really warming up?

Unprecedented temperature rise

(IPCC, 2021)

How severe?

Temperature Rise

Melting of sea ice

Melting of ice leads to less Albedo(reflection of the sun)

More

Temperature Rise

Ice - Albedo Feedback

(Kashiwase et al., 2017)

Ocean Air-Sea Heat Flux Feedback

(Zhang et al., 2021)

What is ‘Environmental Justice?’

Environmental ‘injustice’

Environmental ‘justice’

Environmental Justice

• Regardless of race, income, culture, or social class, all people should be equally protected from environmental and health risks and have the right to enjoy a healthy and pleasant environment

Environmental Justice

Consists of

• “Substantive justice” that everyone has the right to live in a clean environment
• “Distributive justice”, that environmental benefits and burdens must be distributed equally
• “Procedural justice” that places emphasis on participation in the decision-making or implementation process of policies, laws, and plans

Yoon, 2006.

How about in USA…?

• Environmental justice is a concept that arose from the unique social background and historical context of the United States, where racial discrimination exists
• The debate began in the early 1980s, with the Warren County case

How about in USA…?

• Warren County case(1982)

How about in USA…?

• Expanded the subject of discussion from focusing on environmental injustice based on race to including differences in class, age, physical conditions, and sociopolitical influence.

Then, how about in Korea?

• Discussions on environmental justice in Korea can be traced back to the victims' compensation movement for pollution caused by industrial activities.
• In addition, due to recent climate change such as heat waves and heavy rain are frequently occurring. Thus, citizens' interests in environmental justice is increasing, and related discussions are also becoming active.

Flooding

01

August 8^th, 2022, Seoul got the most rain ever observed

426.5mm in a day

a downpour of over 30% of the average annual precipitation

Five people died in Seoul, four of whom lived in banjiha(semi-basement).

What is banjiha�(semi-basement?)

Banjiha(Semi-basement): Half above ground / Half underground type of house

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• little light
• moisture / molds
• difficulty in ventilation
• If it rains -> flood
• But cheap

Why there are many banjiha(semi-basements) �in Korea?

• In 1970, when extreme confrontation with North Korea continued, underground floors were set up to be used as shelters in houses.

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• It became the place where people could stay for the least rent in the city(Seoul).

one in 25 people

in Seoul

Seoul’s underground/banjiha population

34,379 people

23,696 people

23,299 people

All in Seoul

355,054 people

Percentage of people aged 60 or older nationwide

Percentage of households with disabilities nationwide

Of the whole

Of the underground/ banjiha

Of the whole

Of the underground/ banjiha

�Sillim-dong flood accident

Three family members(one member with disability) in a banjiha room in Sillim-dong died.

so unfortunate that it got national attention.

Seoul city

: Implementing a ‘banjiha(semi-basement) elimination' policy

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• Semi-basement improvement
• Seoul-type public dormitory
• Public housing migration support

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🡪 Decided to invest 7.5 trillion won over four years

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What’s government’s plan?

‘The vulnerable' exposed to

heat waves and cold waves

02

Adaptation?

“Most of the climate changes we talk about is actually a matter of adaptation”

Professor Yang-gi Cho

"I have an air conditioner, but I don't dare to turn it on because of the electricity bill. If it's too hot, I turn on the fan. I can't spend a lot of money on air conditioning because I'm having financial difficulties. Elderly people like us don't end up sick for a day or two. If we get sick, it's a matter of life and death.”

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Park Kyung-deok (78)

“Recently, my son bought me an air conditioner. However, I used it few times because I was afraid of electricity bills. I signed up for an energy voucher project that supports cooling costs, but for some reason, it was excluded from the list."

Han Hye-soo (63)

Environmental and health risks differ by

social class and age groups

But!

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There is no clear and unified standard for ‘the energy poverty’

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“It is difficult to expect a significant welfare effect because of unclear target.”

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- An official from the Korea Energy Foundation

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“Standards should be made by reflecting complex and diverse factors such as residential environment as well as economic factors.”

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- Professor Kwon Jung-ho, (professor of social welfare at Incheon National University)

In this respect, National Assembly legislation is underway to define climate vulnerable groups and guarantee their right to live.

The damage caused by unprecedented heat waves and cold waves is

concentrated on the vulnerable.

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The degree of damage is increasing due to low predictability and high volatility of weather changes.

Conclusion

• Compared to the US… Korea?
• Publicize and institutionalize practically
• Procedural justice
• Education of environmental justice

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Thank you for listening!

Q&A