my timesThe Korea Times
  1. Business
  2. Banking & Finance

Eximbank builds Forest of Hope with Korea's national flower in Yeouido

Listen
By Yoon Ja-young
  • Published KST
  • Updated KST
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) Chairman and CEO Yoon Hee-Sung, eighth from left, poses with other participants at a ceremony for the completion of 'Forest of Hope No. 3,' a project to build a small urban park in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. The garden features 'mugunghwa,' or Korea's national flower, commonly known as the Rose of Sharon. Courtesy of Eximbank

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) Chairman and CEO Yoon Hee-Sung, eighth from left, poses with other participants at a ceremony for the completion of "Forest of Hope No. 3," a project to build a small urban park in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. The garden features "mugunghwa," or Korea's national flower, commonly known as the Rose of Sharon. Courtesy of Eximbank

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) established a small forest filled with the Korean national flower (Hibiscus syriacus) in Seoul's financial district of Yeouido to create a healthy urban ecosystem.

The state-run bank said it held a ceremony Monday to celebrate the completion of Forest of Hope No. 3 at Yeouido in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul.

The ceremony was attended by Eximbank Chairman and CEO Yoon Hee-Sung as well as Choi Ho-kwon, Yeongdeungpo District mayor, Kim Seok-kwon, co-representative of Forest for Life, and Hwang In-sik, secretary-general of Community Chest of Korea.

Forest of Hope No. 3 is a project to establish a garden full of Korea's national flower, known as "mugunghwa," more commonly known as Rose of Sharon, on the hillside of Yeouido Hangang Park.

With the donation of 100 million won ($73,000) from the Eximbank, the Forest for Life, an NGO dedicated to planting trees, nurturing and preserving forests, and enhancing everyone's access to forests, planted 10 saplings, 922 shrubs and 192 ground covering plants and flowers for the project.

Separate from the project, Eximbank employees also planted 66 mugunghwa trees and carried out other volunteering activities.

"The creation of an urban forest is part of Eximbank's environmental, social and corporate governance management. By securing green spaces, which are lacking in urban areas, we can provide people with sustainable relaxation spaces and reduce 'green inequality," Yoon said.

"We will continue our eco-friendly activities," he added.

Since implementing the Forest of Hope No. 1 project in the Anyangcheon area in 2022, Eximbank was engaged in the Forest of Hope No. 2 project last April, planting around 1,600 trees, including maple and ginkgo trees, at a park in Dobong District, Seoul.