On Oct. 20, Songdo International Business District was selected to accommodate the secretariat of the U.N.-operated Green Climate Fund (GCF) through a board members election. GCF, with its 190 member nations, is a specialized fund that aims to aid developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to adapt to the impacts of climate changes.
According to Korea Development Institute (KDI), the economic benefits from housing the GCF secretariat can be measured up to 344.42 million US dollars every year. It is expected that more than 500 employees at the initial period and up to 8,000 employees total will be stationed at the GCF bureau. It is also predicted that international meetings that are held about 120 times annually can lead to direct fiscal incentives. Those include bigger job openings, and the growth of touring and lodging industries.
“It has almost the same effect as having a new major global industry in Songdo,” said Bahk Jae-wan, the Minister of Strategy and Finance.
Hosting headquarters of international organizations like GCF can mean having a superior stationed work force as well as flowing international population. It provides a wider range of employment while broadening the chances of future advancements. Therefore, numerous nations are supporting international organizations by enacting systematic and financial backup measures.
On the contrary, Korea is almost like a barren land when it comes to establishing international organizations. Among 21,000 international organization offices, only 27 of them are located in Korea. This is a minute figure compared to Japan with 270 offices, and other developing countries, like Thailand, with 133 offices. Considering the continuous effects these offices have on the country’s economy, Korea should put huge effort into housing international offices from now on.
“To efficiently support international office, ameliorates in international hospitals and rental apartments for foreigners are necessary,” said Han Jung-ho, a professor at Yonsei University. “We also need to improve transportation infrastructure to provide smooth connection to Seoul.”
Korea is the one and only nation that advanced from a country that used to receive aid to a nation that offers aid to other countries. This unique experience provides an excellent rags-to-riches development model and Korea can help build bridges of understanding between developing and developed countries. If Korea successfully utilizes this advantage and makes a full effort to build internal business infrastructures, Korea will become a more attractive nation to locate international organizations.
