Environment ministry, industry group to convene green-growth forum

South Korea's environment ministry will hold its eighth sustainable-innovation forum with the Korea Business Council for Sustainable Development on Wednesday, Oct. 21, drawing about 200 business leaders, international officials and diplomats to the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District.

The event, to run from 2 p.m. in the hotel's Orchid Room, is titled "Completing the value of the green transition (GX) with the intelligence of the AI transition (AX): the choice of leaders who will steer Korea's K-GX." The ministry and the council, known as KBCSD, have picked a theme for the annual gathering every year since 2019.

The forum opens as international climate rules take hold and as supply chains reorganize around green industries. The ministry said it chose the AI theme because advanced technologies are becoming a central force in decarbonization and the shift to green industry.

Oh Il-young, head of the ministry's climate and energy policy office, will take part alongside Park Jae-wan, the council's chairman, and honorary chairman Huh Dong-soo. James Kim, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, is also on the guest list, which includes chief executives of domestic and foreign companies, representatives of international organizations and resident ambassadors.

In the first of three sessions, Huh and Kyung Hee University professor Lee Kyung-jin will share their views on industrial competitiveness and corporate value creation in the AI era, and on the importance of sustainable management.

The second session will feature the ministry's K-GX planning team presenting the government's strategy for a Korean-style green transition, and Jung Moo-kyung, president of the sustainability management division at Korea Zinc, presenting an ESG-led road map for cleaner smelting and greater self-sufficiency in resources. Sohn Do-il, chief executive of the law firm Yulchon, will set out his blueprint for a legal and institutional framework to bed down the green ecosystem. Park will moderate a special discussion on policy and business innovation.

The third session brings in foreign executives. Romanik Ernst, executive vice president at Schneider Electric for Asia, will present AI-driven manufacturing innovation and the company's clean-energy transition strategy. Francois Schaeffler, an executive vice president at DSM-Firmenich, will share cases in which AI algorithms have reshaped the design of sustainable products.

The forum follows the government's release on Oct. 7 of its Korean-style green transition strategy, which set out plans for 1,000 trillion won ($751 billion) in public investment over a decade and 220 trillion won ($165 billion) in private K-GX signature projects.

"The green transition is a core strategy for carrying out carbon neutrality and securing the future competitiveness of the country and its companies," Oh said. He added that the government would use AI as a key driver of the shift and would provide the fullest policy and financial support to help Korean companies lead the global green market.