ABSTRACT
Achieving the Sustainable Develoopment Goals (SDGs) requires the collaboration of civil society groups and the public and private sectors. Although Korea officially recognized sustainable development with the 1992 Earth Summit, this was the result of earlier democratization efforts and the development of the environmental movement. While efforts towards sustainability began prior to Korea’s Local Agenda 21 recognition, tensions at multiple levels and with competing interest groups created challenges to building a common vision of sustainable development. Competing interests will have differing views as to the process and outcomes of sustainable development, which can be seen in the difficulty of building a coherent policy that is embraced by all stakeholders. Despite this challenge, Korea has demonstrated the achievement of sustainability in waste management and resource recovery.
