At the end of 2017, the South Korean government published its eighth basic plan for electricity supply. The government has published a basic plan for electricity supply biennially since the first one in 2002. In the latest version of its basic plan, the South Korean government admitted that the seventh plan had the following limitations: first, demand prospects have been overly estimated, which resulted in less efficient performance in terms of energy consumption; second, economic aspects have been prioritized over environmental and safety-related aspects. Responding to these self-criticisms, the South Korean government adjusted its demand projections and focused more on improvements in energy efficiency and conservation. It also decided to shut-down aged coal power plants and nuclear power plants, and increase renewable energy facilities and natural gas power plants to fill up the gaps. The following table shows the energy production goals the South Korean government set up:

The new Energy Plan, if fully implemented will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better enable South Korea to fulfill its pledge to the Paris Agreement. However, its short or mid-term goals still remain less aggressive. It would be recommendable for South Korea to adhere to these goals at least, and hopefully accelerate transition to more carbon-free energy supply.

You can get involved by making sure that these recommendations are being acted upon. Please contact the organizations and people listed below with the following message:

We congratulate the government on the issuance of its 8th annual electricity supply plan. The plan sets forward excellent long-term goals for reducing harmful greenhouse gas and complying with our commitment to the Paris Agreement. However, we urge you to adapt more aggressive short and medium term strategies to ensure that the long-term goals will be fully met.

Contact:

Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy
Office for Energy and Resources
Address: Bldg. 12 5F, 402 Hannuri-daero, Sejong City, Republic of Korea (postal code. 30118)
Director: PARK Won-ju (Tel. +82-44-203-5700)
Action Officer: KO Eun-jung (Tel. +82-44-203-5701)

Korean National Assembly
Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee
Chairman CHANG Byung-wan’s office
Address: National Assembly Member’s Office Bldg. Suite 920, 1 Uisadang-daero Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea (postal code. 07233)
Tel. +82-2-788-2808 | Fax. +82-2-788-0339