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2023. Dec VOL.669
2023. Dec VOL.669
K-water is Korea’s No.1 public corporation that specializes in water management. Over the past 50 years, K-water has contributed to the country’s economic growth by providing water and realizing water wellbeing for people. Today, water management has become more important than ever amid the rapidly changing water environment due to climate crisis. Against this backdrop, K-water is ready to make another leap forward. Above all, K-water pledged to keep water safety as the top priority given the worsening meteorological disasters. As water becomes increasingly valuable, K-water plans to develop the water industry further and help boost green exports as well as to secure the timely supply of massive amounts of water that will be necessary for industrial restructuring with focus on hi-tech industries including semiconductor. Together with all employees, K-water president Yun Seog-dae declared the new management initiative to move ahead toward a new era of water and shared these goals.
“As a global water company leading the response to climate crisis, K-water will write a new chapter of challenges and happiness for all. Let us remain firm and committed to creating a new era of water where all people have access to clean and safe water,“ he urged.
-Congratulatory speech by President Yun Seog-dae-
K-water’s top priority is to march steadily toward a new era of water where people have access to clean and safe water. First, K-water will concentrate on “water management”—its core responsibility—more than ever. The water management process will be strengthened to cope better with extreme weather events and ensure security and safety for people as a top priority. Dams play a crucial role in coping with a series of future problems including flood and water shortage. K-water is focusing on expanding its water storage capacity in response to extreme droughts and floods that have been occurring frequently in recent years. Currently, K-water is managing a total of 56 dams including 20 multi-purpose dams such as Soyang Dam and 14 storage dams. K-water is responsible for supplying 12.5 billion ㎥ of water (61% of the total national water supply) and 5.3 billion ㎥ of water for flood control (94% of the total national water supply for flood control). K-water is working on ways to create new water storage capacities, link and utilize the existing facilities efficiently, and diversify uses of water resources in order to cope with water issues and climate change including heavy rains and water shortage that cannot be addressed by the capacity of the existing infrastructure. In addition, K-water will lead the efforts to respond scientifically and proactively to pollutants including green algae.
Water supply innovation that people can actually feel is also on K-water’s agenda. K-water has been providing sufficient, clean water to citizens through the optimal management and utilization of water supply facilities from water source to tap. Since the launch of the first phase of the metropolitan waterworks in 1973, K-water has expanded its waterworks business to industrial water supply and water supply in regional areas; thus contributing to K-water’s qualitative and quantitative growth. K-water also operates 50 metropolitan waterworks systems and assumes responsibility for 48.7% of the country’s total water supply capacity. Furthermore, K-water is entrusted with the management of water supply systems of 23 municipalities. It will not only operate its water supply systems in a way that can ensure stable supply of clean and safe water but also respond proactively to potential risks to water supply by storing activated carbon. K-water will also assume an active role in helping the Korean economy grow, since it stands at a crucial juncture to rise as a global leader in the hi-tech industry including semiconductor. In other words, K-water will focus on providing high-quality water customized to the needs of the country and industry. While making optimal use of conventional water resources including dams, K-water will keep working on expanding the spectrum of alternative water resources including seawater desalination by employing cutting-edge water treatment technologies.
Korea is facing the risk of local extinction amid the declining population in regional areas. In reality, local municipalities are struggling to find solutions for development and growth on their own. K-water steps in to help itself and local municipalities grow together. Specifically, K-water will raise the operational efficiency of municipal waterworks and modernize the waterworks as part of efforts to realize universal water wellbeing and achieve decentralization. Moreover, K-water will be involved in creating regionally specialized smart cities featuring water cycle and energy self-sufficiency to make regional cities appealing and well-prepared for climate change.
K-water makes use of various added values of water to offer a wide range of water environment services. K-water’s water supply knowhow is key to designing and creating living spaces and industrial complexes that can coexist harmoniously with the environment and ecosystem. K-water is also contributing to reducing carbon emissions by producing and supplying various types of water-based clean energy. With the advent of the era of global technology hegemony, industrial competitiveness is becoming increasingly important. Under these circumstances, K-water’s water-specialized urban projects are playing a critical role in promoting the development of the national economy and efficient use and development of land. In this context, K-water is stepping up its efforts to create climate-resilient cities featuring water safety, carbon neutrality, and environmental value. K-water’s energy projects are a key component that ensures stable power supply in an eco-friendly way and helps Korean exporters overcome green trade barriers. One of the competitive advantages of K-water is restructuring convergent urban and energy projects in its own original way by expanding the value of water.
As a member of One Team Korea, K-water intends to serve as a bridgehead for green exports to help private corporations tap into overseas markets. K-water capitalizes on all of its resources related to water, energy, and urban development to broaden the scope of its overseas business and water industry development to offering solutions to climate crisis. For this, K-water intends to support overseas market development by private corporations by taking advantage of its global network and water-related capacity including GHG emissions reduction and creation of smart city. K-water actively engages in the reconstruction of Ukraine and facilitates green exports of Korean corporations, contributing greatly to building a global network as a member of One Team Korea. The first and foremost goal for K-water is to keep people safe through water management. K-water aims to grow as a fair global water company together with the national economy including corporations and local communities and to take the lead in responding to climate crisis. K-water will usher you to a new era of water that highlights “safety,” “dynamics,” and “fairness.”
