People For Earth

On November 12, 2025, the Council of Mayors and County Heads of Border Areas (Chairman Myung-Joon Ham, Mayor of Goseong) held the 2025 DMZ Development Forum under the theme “Ecology, Peace, and Development of the Demilitarized Zone”

Sponsored by People for Earth Foundation and Congressman In-Young Lee, the forum took place at the National Assembly Library’s Small Auditorium. It holds significance as the first official platform to explore a sustainable future for border areas. While past discussions about the DMZ focused mainly on ecological conservation or peacebuilding separately, this forum aimed to present an integrated perspective encompassing ecology, peace, and regional development.

The forum opened with moderator attorney Bo-Hyun Ham, followed by welcoming remarks from Myung-Joon Ham, Chairman of the Council and Mayor of Goseong, and congratulatory speeches by Congressman Jung Park (Paju, Gyeonggi Province), Congressman Yang-Soo Lee (Sokcho, Inje, Goseong, and Yangyang, Gangwon Province), and People for Earth’s Co-Representative Kumsil Kang (55th Minister of Justice).

In Part 1 keynote sessions, Congressman In-Young Lee (Seoul Guro, 41st Minister of Unification) and Wang-Bae Kim, Executive Director of People for Earth and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Yonsei University, gave keynote speeches on “DMZ Ecology, Peace, and Development” and “Peace, Life, and Future of the DMZ and Border Areas,” respectively.

Part 2, titled “Resolving Conflicts and Development in Border Areas,” featured presentations by Professor Monica Han of Seoul National University’s Institute for Unification and Peace Studies on “The Global Origins and Future of the Korean Peninsula DMZ: Implementation and Transformation of ‘Geographical Disarmament,’” Kyung-Hee Lee, Senior Researcher at Korea Eximbank’s North Korea Development Research Center, on “Case Studies of Peace Economy Promotion in Overseas Border Areas,” and Joon-Seo Hwang of Hamburg University’s Center for Sustainability Futures on “Environmental Cooperation Cases in Border Areas and the Inter-Korean Border Region.”

In Part 3, “Ecology, Peace, and Development of the DMZ and Border Areas,” lectures were delivered by Byung-Jin Ahn, former National Policy Planning Commissioner of the Lee Jae-Myung government and Professor at Kyung Hee University’s Future Civilization Institute, on “A New Life-Peace Philosophy Rooted in the DMZ and Border Areas,” Researcher Ji-Sung Ryu of the Korea Legislation Research Institute on “Inter-Korean Peace Coexistence and Legislation: Focusing on the Two-State Theory,” and Min-Jo Kang, Director of the Korean Peninsula and East Asia Research Center at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, on “Plans for Establishing a Green Peace Zone in the DMZ.” These presentations shared diverse visions related to the DMZ and border areas.

The final comprehensive discussion was chaired by Wang-Bae Kim, Executive Director of People for Earth, who led an in-depth conversation with presenters on new interpretations of the DMZ, analyses of overseas border area cases, and development proposals including the establishment of an ecological peace park.

The forum’s significance is underscored by the fact that it was organized directly by the Council of Mayors and County Heads of Border Areas, representing the border region stakeholders. Since its founding in 2008, the council has included ten cities and counties—Incheon’s Ganghwa and Ongjin Counties, Gyeonggi Province’s Gimpo, Paju, and Yeoncheon Counties, and Gangwon Province’s Cheorwon, Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje, and Goseong Counties—working toward balanced development, regulatory improvements, and creating growth engines in border areas. Chairman Myung-Joon Ham emphasized that the forum originated from the border local governments’ deep reflection on the preservation and utilization of the DMZ and pledged that the council will continue to make every effort for the DMZ to become a symbol of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

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