South Korea has been reported to spend 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on environmental protection. (Image courtesy of Anseong City)
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has been reported to spend 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on environmental protection, averaging approximately 920,000 won per capita.
The Ministry of Environment revealed the compilation results of the environmental protection expenditure account for 2021 on December 25. In 2021, the national expenditure for environmental protection increased by 3.2% to 47.69 trillion won, from 46.23 trillion won in 2020. This amount corresponded to 2.29% of the nation’s GDP.
The rate of environmental protection expenditure in relation to GDP, after reaching a peak of 2.71% in 2009, declined to 2.1% in 2017, then rose again to 2.39% in 2020, before falling in 2021. The decline is attributed to the increase in GDP outpacing the rise in environmental protection spending.
When divided by the registered population in 2021 (51,638,809 people), the expenditure equates to roughly 923,633 won per person, indicating that each individual accounts for spending of just under 1 million won on environmental protection.
In terms of specific areas of expenditure, wastewater management, such as sewage pipeline maintenance and the installation of facilities to reduce water pollutants, accounted for the largest share at 36.4% (17.35 trillion won).
This was followed by the air sector, including electric and hydrogen vehicle distribution and fine dust reduction projects, at 24.4% (11.63 trillion won), and the waste sector, involving waste collection and disposal, at 20.8% (9.93 trillion won).
In terms of expenditure sources, businesses contributed the most at 54.9% (26.16 trillion won), while the government and households spent 36.7% (17.53 trillion won) and 8.4% (4.05 trillion won), respectively.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
