Journal of Environmental Management 87 (2008) 1–13 Strategies for sustainable development of industrial park in Ulsan, South Korea—From spontaneous evolution to systematic expansion of industrial symbiosis Hung-Suck Park a,Ã , Eldon R. Rene a , Soo-Mi Choi a , Anthony S.F. Chiu b a Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ulsan, P.O. Box 18, Ulsan 680-749, Republic of South Korea b Department of Industrial Engineering, De La Salle University-Manila, 1004, Philippines Received 15 June 2006; received in revised form 22 November 2006; accepted 31 December 2006 Available online 6 March 2007 Abstract The Korea National Cleaner Production Center (KNCPC) affiliated to the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) has started a 15 year, 3-phase EIP master plan with the support of Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE). A total of 6 industrial parks, including industrial parks in Ulsan city, known as the industrial capital of South Korea, are planning projects to find the feasibility of shifting existing industrial parks to eco-industrial parks. The basic survey shows that Ulsan industrial complex has been continuously evolving from conventional industrial complexes to eco-industrial parks by spontaneous industrial symbiosis. This paper describes the Korean national policies and the developmental activities of this vision to drive the global trend of innovation for converting the existing industrial parks to eco-industrial parks through inter-industry waste, energy, and material exchange in Ulsan Industrial complexes. In addition, the primary and supportive components of the Ulsan EIP pilot project, which will be implemented for 5 years is elaborated with its schedules and economic benefits. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Eco-industrial parks; Industrial symbiosis; Sustainable development; Policies; Industrial networks; South Korea 1. Introduction In 1962, Ulsan was appointed as a special industrial park in South Korea and since then, several industrial complexes have been established without considering the environ- mental impacts. Ulsan has grown up to be the industrial capital of Korea, with a strong hold of petrochemical, nonferrous metal, ship building and automobile industries (Fig. 1). There are 504 industrial parks in South Korea, out of which 34 are large scaled industrial facilities accounting for 2/3rd of the total land for industrial parks (164,440 acres). One among them is a cluster of complexes located in Ulsan City, which was been often described as the ‘‘pollutant’s department store’’ and ‘‘the country’s most polluted city’’. Recently, awareness campaigns followed by stringent environmental standards and legislations have motivated these industries to adopt suitable technologies that lead to cleaner production and abatement of all forms of pollution (Park et al., 2004). After the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, a comprehensive approach was taken to improve the environmental, social and business perfor- mance in Korean industry by applying the concepts of cleaner production and industrial ecology. Ulsan industrial complexes has been continuously evolving from conven- tional industrial complexes to eco-industrial parks, based on sustainable development policies adopted by existing industries (Lowe, 2001; Chiu, 2003; Park et al., 2004; Lowe and Chiu, 2005). An eco industrial park (EIP) is ‘‘an industrial system which conserves natural and economic resources; reduces production, material, energy, insurance and treatment costs and liabilities; improves operating efficiency, quality, worker health and public image; and provides opportu- nities for income generation from use and sale of wasted materials’’ (Cote and Hall, 1995). Lowe (1996) pointed out ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman 0301-4797/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.12.045 Ã Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 52 259 1050; fax: +82 52 221 0152. E-mail address: parkhs@ulsan.ac.kr (H.-S. Park).