Applying Environmental Justice Approach to Sustainable Development Debate in South Korea
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Applying Environmental Justice Approach to Sustainable Development Debate in South Korea Eun Ah Hong Supervisors: Isabel Giménez García Antonio Caballer Miedes January 2021 Doctoral Programme in International Studies in Peace, Conflict and Development Universitat Jaume I Doctoral School Applying Environmental Justice Approach to Sustainable Development Debate in South Korea Eun Ah Hong Isabel Giménez García Antonio Caballer Miedes Firmado digitalmente por ANTONIO| Firmado por ISABEL GIMENEZ ANTONI CABALLER|MIEDES Nombre de reconocimiento (DN): GARCIA - NIF:18992413W el día O| cn=ANTONIO| CABALLER|MIEDES, 01/03/2021 con un certificado serialNumber=18939443 CABALL R, givenName=ANTONIO, emitido por ACCVCA-120 sn=CABALLER MIEDES, ER| ou=Ciudadanos, o=ACCV, c=ES Fecha: 2021.03.01 MIEDES 14:59:53 +01'00' Castelló de la Plana, January 2021 Abstract The world has been burdened with numerous unprecedented environmental challenges since the emergence of industrial society. Concerns over the environmental issue have accelerated worldwide and sustainability has appeared as an essential approach to this problem in world politics. However, environmental conflicts have only intensified along with rapidly increasing environmental degradation, which has continued to increasingly impact marginalized groups of society. Therefore, this research has applied the environmental justice approach within a debate of sustainable development. By applying an environmental justice approach as an alternative tool to guide sustainability, this research discusses why sustainable development has not been able to meet its aims. More importantly, this research has also looked for how the environmental justice approach can pave the way towards a sustainable development which promotes sustainability and peace. Accordingly, the research examined the case study of the Miryang movement in South Korea where adoptance of sustainable development has been difficult. Even after sustainable development has been employed, the social-environmental conflicts in South Korea have worsened. In this regard, the Miryang environmental justice movement provides valuable insight on how environmental justice is connected to the sustainable development discussion. All things, quite literally, are linked to all others. Accordingly, any striving for peace must take an account of this connectedness: of living things to soil and atmosphere, as well as to all other living things; of people to their natural environment, as well as their man- and woman- made social systems and each other; of the past to the future of this planet; and of risks to opportunities for everyone and everything (Barash & Weber, 2009: 418) Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following people for taking this long journey with me. I owe a debt of gratitude to supervisors and tutor, Dr. Isabel Giménez García, Dr. Antonio Caballer Miedes, and Dr. Vicente José Benet Ferrando for their support and guidance. I am grateful to Dr. Byung- Doo Choi for generously helping me to find different opportunities and advising me. Thanks to Dr. Andres Piqueras for broadening my interest and knowledge on the topic. A special thanks goes to the Miryang villagers for unwearying struggle. Their resistance is a great inspiration and valuable input for our society. Thanks to my parents and my brother for unconditional love and endless support. Without the strong root of family love and care, I could not be able to finish this long journey. I am grateful to Sibylle and Katie for investing their precious time to proofread my dissertation. Thanks to Marisol for boosting my spirit up with your beautiful wise soul. Thanks to Jean for supporting me and showing me your sisterhood, especially when I was going through a difficult time. Last but not least, thanks to my best friends Diego, Nicolas, Marco, and Balma for laughing with me and sharing beautiful time together. TABLE OF CONTENTS General Introduction Presentation of the Dissertation .………………………..………...…………………..1 Objectives of the Study ….…………………………………………..………………..4 Justification …………………………………………………………………………..5 Methodology …………………………………………………………...…………….7 Organization of the Dissertation ……………………..…………………………….…7 PART I: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework Chapter One: The Emergence of Sustainable Development and its Critical Perspectives 1.1. Introduction …………………….……………………………………………....13 1.2. Theoretical Framing of the Root Causes of Environmental Crisis ……………....15 1.2.1. The Impacts of Capitalism: The Logic of Market Economic System …...…...19 1.2.2. The New Era of Development: Development as Modernization ………........22 1.3. The Emergence of Sustainable Development ……………………………...…....25 1.3.1. Pre-Sustainable Development Discussion: The 1972 Stockholm Conference.27 1.3.2. The 1987 Brundtland Commission …………..……………………..….……28 1.3.3. The 1992 Rio Conference ……………..……………..……………….……..32 1.3.4. The UN Millennium Summit and the Millennium Development Goals ........35 1.3.5. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development …...…………..……38 1.3.6. Rio+20: The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development ……………………………………………………………………………………….40 1.3.7. The New Context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement ……….…………………………………………...…………………..…42 1.4. Defining Mainstream Sustainable Development and its Characteristics ..………44 1.4.1. Sustainable Development based on Scientific Technology, Rationality ....…47 1.4.2. Sustainable Development: Sustainable Growth through Green-Neoliberalism ……………………………………………………………………………………….48 1.5. Critiques of Mainstream Sustainable Development Discourse .……….………..50 1.6. Conclusion …..……………………………………………………………….…56 Chapter Two: Environmental Justice: Alternative Contribution to Sustainable Development 2.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………...……..59 2.2. Origins of Environmental Justice ……………………………………….…...….62 2.2.1. Rise of Environmental Justice Movements as Environmental Racism & Inequity ………..…………………………………………………………….……....63 2.2.2. Consequences of the Environmental Justice Movement(s) ………………….66 2.3. Defining Environmental Justice …………………………………...…………....70 2.3.1. Distributive Perspective in Environmental Justice ………………...…….…..71 2.3.2. Participatory and Procedure Perspective in Environmental Justice …….....…73 2.3.3. Recognition Perspective in Environmental Justice …………..……………...75 2.3.4. Capabilities Perspective in Environmental Justice ……………..………..…..78 2.4. Environmental Justice within the Debate of Sustainable Development …….......79 2.4.1. Environmental Crisis through the Environmental Justice Perspective ………81 2.4.2. Bottom-Up Movements: Creating a Political Space ………………...…….…84 2.4.3. Environmental Justice: All for One and One for All ……………...….….…...86 2.5. Conclusion …………………………………………………………….…..……88 Chapter Three: Environmental Sustainability and Peace 3.1. Introduction ………………………………………………………...……....…..91 3.2. Defining Peace and Violence ……………………………..……………....…….93 3.2.1. Negative and Positive Peace …………………………....…………….……..95 3.2.2. Direct, Structural and Cultural Violence ...………………………….…….....96 3.2.3. Ecological Well-Being in Peace Studies ……………………..…….…..……98 3.3. Transforming the Vicious Violence Cycle toward Peaceful Future ……….…...100 3.3.1. Understanding Interconnectedness within the System ……………..….…...102 3.3.2. Environmental Justice Perspective for Environmental Sustainability and Peace ……………………………………………………………………………………...105 3.4. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….109 PART II: Case Study – The Miryang Movement in South Korea Chapter Four: Situating South Korea in the Sustainable Development Debate 4.1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………...…113 4.2. General Characteristics of Development Process in South Korea ……….....….114 4.2.1. Characteristics of South Korean Development Model ….…………...……..115 4.2.2. General Energy Policy in South Korea ………………..……………..……..117 4.2.3. Producing ‘Cheap’ Labor ………………………..………………….……...121 4.2.4. Environmental Protection? Economic Growth! …………..………….…….123 4.3. Sustainable Development in South Korea …………………………..…..……..126 4.3.1. First Encounter of Sustainable Development in South Korea …….………...127 4.3.2. The Birth of Green Growth and its Objectives ……...…………….………..130 4.3.3. Korean-Sustainable Development Goals (K-SDGs) …………..…….….….134 4.4. Criticism of Sustainable Development Applied in South Korea ……..…...……136 4.4.1. Is Green Growth Sustainable Development? ………………..…….……….137 4.4.2. Green Growth Energy Policy: Is it ‘really’ Green? …………...….….……...139 4.4.3. Renewable Energy as an Ultimate Solution? ………..………….….……….143 4.4.4. Characteristics of Green Growth Policy …………..………………..………146 4.5. Conclusion ………………………………………………..…….……………..148 Chapter Five: Transmission Towers and Lines Conflict in Miryang 5.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………...……………151 5.2. General Overview of the Conflict in Miryang …………………….....………...153 5.2.1. First Phase: January 2000 to December 2005 ……………..……..…………155 5.2.2. Second Phase: December 2005 to November 2010 ………………………...157 5.2.3. Third Phase: November 2010 to January 2012 ……………………………..158 5.2.4. Fourth Phase: January 2012 to May 2013 …………………....….………….158 5.2.5. Fifth Phase: May 2013 to June 11, 2014 …………………..……..…….…...159 5.2.6. Sixth Phase: June 2014 to December 2015 ………………..…..……….…...160 5.2.7. Seventh Phase: Afterwards ………………..……………….………………161 5.3. The Consequences of the Miryang Project ………………………..……..…….163 5.3.1. The Violation of Property Rights …………..………………….…………...166 5.3.2. Destruction of Community ……………..………….………………………170