Jeju Island to pursue 11.2 billion won ‘Carbon-Neutral Leading Villages’ project; open call for two sites in November

【Financial News Jeju = Jeong Yong-bok】 Jeju Island is pursuing an 11.2 billion won carbon-neutral leading village project. In November, it will invite applications for two villages where residents can directly test ways to reduce carbon emissions in their daily lives, including through energy use and resource recycling.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 28th, the resident-participatory project will combine daily life, resource recycling and energy transition at the village level to verify their effectiveness in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon neutrality means reducing greenhouse gas emissions and absorbing or removing the remaining emissions to bring net emissions to zero. In the leading villages, measures suited to local conditions will be implemented and their actual effects assessed.
Villages at the administrative-dong and ri levels in Jeju are eligible to apply. Jeju Island plans to select two sites, taking into account population, local conditions and the projects residents want.
Jeju Island conducted a preliminary demand survey from September 30 to October 13. The survey was intended to gauge residents’ willingness to participate and the conditions for projects in each village; participation in the survey and its results will not be considered in the evaluation for the main application round. Detailed eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria and the selection process will be announced in November.
The project is a local pilot under the government’s carbon-neutral leading city policy. In October 2024, Jeju was selected alongside Nowon-gu in Seoul, Dangjin and Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province in a call for proposals for carbon-neutral leading cities jointly conducted by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Jeju was the only province-level local government among the four sites selected nationwide.
In April this year, Jeju Island finalized its basic plan for carbon-neutral leading cities and decided to pursue 42 billion won in new projects from 2026 through 2030, including the development of leading villages. The plan is to pilot greenhouse gas reduction measures in areas including buildings, transport and energy, and develop a model that can also be applied in other regions.
Jo Seon-hui, head of Jeju Island’s Climate and Energy Bureau, said, “We will move ahead with site selection without a hitch, taking into account resident participation and the conditions of each village,” adding, “We will develop a Jeju-style carbon-neutral implementation model and spread it to other regions.”


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter