Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok) won the '3rd UN Global City Award for Sustainable Development (Shanghai Award)' held in Bogota, Colombia on October 31, 2025 (local time).
Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok) won the '3rd UN Global City Award for Sustainable Development (Shanghai Award)' held in Bogota, Colombia on October 31, 2025 (local time).
Incheon City then participated in the special session of the City Network held on November 1st as an award-winning city and presented its best practices and policy achievements.
At this event, Hwang Hyo-jin, Deputy Mayor for Global City Affairs, introduced key policies centered on four major areas: ▲carbon neutrality ▲housing and low birth rate policies ▲industrial innovation ▲international cooperation as core strategies for Incheon to leap forward as a 'global top ten city.'
Deputy Mayor Hwang emphasized the "2045 Carbon Neutrality Achievement Declaration," based on the hosting of the GCF Secretariat, and various climate and environmental conservation efforts. He also highlighted Incheon's growth as a hub for international cooperation, as evidenced by its hosting of 15 international organizations, including the UN-APCICT. He also announced that Incheon is pursuing a transition to green industries through the construction of the world's largest hydrogen liquefaction plant and the establishment of a K-Bio specialized complex.
In particular, the '1,000 Won Housing', which provides rental housing for 1,000 won per day, and the 'i-Plus 100 Million Dream Policy', which provides up to 100 million won in support from birth to age 18, are policies aimed at solving the low birth rate and aging population problem at the national level, and when the number of births in Incheon in 2024 was announced to have increased by 11.6% compared to the previous year, they attracted the attention of many city officials.
Meanwhile, Incheon City is capitalizing on its award for the UN Global Cities for Sustainable Development Award by making every effort to build networks with other global cities. In a meeting with Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan on October 31st, the mayor shared the news that the Bogota city rail line, which has been stagnant for over 80 years, will be completed in two years and expressed deep interest in Incheon's urban development efforts through the airport. Vice Mayor Hwang Hyo-jin expressed gratitude to the Bogota mayors' delegation who visited Incheon in August and confirmed the commitment to cooperation between the two cities.
Also, at the "Sustainable Cities Network" session on November 1st, China's Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong expressed deep interest in Incheon's award news and discussed smooth policy exchanges between Incheon and Chinese cities. During this process, Fuzhou City in China invited Incheon to join the Global Alliance for Sustainable Development (GASDC) and expressed its intention to participate.
A delegation from Espoo, Finland's second largest city, proposed sustainable urban cooperation with Incheon.
In an interview with media outlets including Xinhua News Agency just before the session, Hwang Hyo-jin, Vice Mayor for Global Cities and Government Affairs, said, “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to UN-Habitat and Shanghai City for co-hosting this award ceremony. Taking this award as an opportunity, we will do our best to strengthen Incheon City’s brand status and make a leap forward as a global top ten sustainable city.”