Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae said Wednesday that the government’s “Green New Deal” initiative is the first step in the country’s bigger, broader and long-term plan to transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

In a meeting with reporters, he defended the recently-unveiled national development plan, which was criticized by environmentalists for lacking substance in green initiatives, and by economists for being insufficient to reinvigorate the pandemic-hit economy.

“This Green New Deal plan is not a visionary ambiguous goal, but a strategic initiative with goals divided for every five years, and what we have introduced recently is just the first part,” he said.

“I do recognize that some criticized our initial plan, but we can assure you is that we are ultimately looking to save the struggling economy from the coronavirus outbreak and later ensure that our economic system runs carbon-neutral,” he added.

The Green New Deal envisions the government will invest 73.4 trillion won ($61.5 billion) through 2025 and create 659,000 new jobs with a focus on energy transition, infrastructural upheaval and growing new green industrial projects.

Critics argued that the plan lacked efforts to tackle core environmental issues, with some criticizing that it is not different from the Green Growth strategy of the Lee Myung-bak administration that kicked off in 2008.

Both reform projects are focused on fostering economic growth through infrastructural upheaval, emphasis on renewable energy sources and expanded supply of eco-friendly vehicle options.

Of the 50 trillion won budget given for the Green Growth plan, 32 trillion won was spent on the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. The revitalization project of four Korean rivers has been criticized by many after its completion for inversely damaging the nearby environment and its inhabitants.

The minister explained that the latest reform project is different from the Green Growth project, as it divides the given budget into various pillar projects and is not skewed toward any particular one.

He promised that more projects in diverse areas will be pursued in the future, requesting his critics to not judge the government’s plan for what it has announced for the first five years.

“This Green New Deal project is truly an opportunity for Korea to be a leading economic power in the future, and the five-year plan will set a foundation for additional unique Korean initiatives in the future,” the minister added.

“Our ultimate goal is to make Korea a carbon-neutral society, and we will be working closely with related ministries, experts and agencies in the future to accelerate the process and find new paths and solutions.”

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)