Energy in South Korea

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Yongpyeong wind farm

South Korea is a major energy importer, importing nearly all of its oil needs and ranking as the second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas in the world. Electricity generation in the country mainly comes from conventional thermal power, which accounts for more than two thirds of production, and from nuclear power.[1]

Energy producers were dominated by government enterprises, although privately operated coal mines and oil refineries also existed. The National Assembly enacted a broad electricity sector restructuring program in 2000, but the restructuring process was halted amid political controversy in 2004 and remains a topic of intense political debate.[2]

South Korea has no proven oil reserves.[1] Exploration until the 1980s in the Yellow Sea and on the continental shelf between Korea and Japan did not find any offshore oil. Coal supply in the country is insufficient and of low quality. The potential for hydroelectric power is limited because of high seasonal variations in the weather and the concentration of most of the rainfall in the summer. As of 2017, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has vowed to end the country’s reliance on coal and also said the nation would move away from nuclear energy. He has taken a major step in that direction in June, saying his country would not try to extend the life of its nuclear plants, would close existing coal-fired plants, and would not build any new coal plants.[3]

In recent years, South Korea has set a new direction for its energy sector, with significant decarbonization goals, aiming to raise the share of electricity from renewable sources from 6% in 2019 to 35% by 2030.[4][5]

History[edit]

Energy in South Korea[6]
Nuclear Coal LNG Renewable

(PV & Wind)

Hydrogen & Ammonia Others Total
2018 133.5

(23.4%)

239.0

(41.9%)

152.9

(26.8%)

35.6

(6.2%)

0.0

(0.0%)

9.7

(1.7%)

570.7
2021 158.0

(27.4%)

198.0

(34.3%)

168.4

(29.2%)

43.1

(7.5%)

0.7

(0.1%)

9.4

(1.6%)

577.5
2022 176.1

(29.6%)

193.2

(32.5%)

163.6

(27.5%)

53.2

(8.9%)

0.9

(0.1%)

8.4

(1.4%)

595.3
2023 (proj.) 188.3

(31.4%)

196.4

(32.8%)

150.0

(25.0%)

59.6

(9.9%)

n/a 5.3

(0.9%)

599.6

Overview[edit]

See also: List of power stations in South Korea

Final energy consumption by source (2010):[7]

  • Coal: 27.6 Mtoe (million tonne of oil equivalent) (14.2%)
  • Petroleum: 100.5 Mtoe (51.6%)
  • LNG: 21.9 Mtoe (11.3%)
  • Electricity: 37.3 Mtoe (19.2%)
  • Heat: 1.7 Mtoe (0.9%)
  • Renewable: 5.8 Mtoe (3%)
Energy in South Korea[8]
Capita Prim. energy Production Import Electricity CO2-emission
Million TWh TWh TWh TWh Mt
2004 48.08 2,478 442 2,140 355 462
2007 48.46 2,584 494 2,213 412 489
2008 48.61 2,639 520 2,269 430 501
2009 48.75 2,665 515 2,304 438 515
2010 48.88 2,908 522 2,571 481 563
2012 49.78 3,029 546 2,644 506 588
2012R 50.00 3,064 538 2,659 517 593
2013 50.22 3,068 507 2,723 524 572
Change 2004-10 1.7% 17.3% 18.1% 20.1% 35.5% 21.9%
Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Prim. energy includes energy losses that are 2/3 for nuclear power[9]

2012R = CO2 calculation criteria changed, numbers updated

Electric power[edit]

History[edit]

Electricity production in South Korea
Siheung, Gyeonggi

The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) provided electricity in the country. When KEPCO's predecessor, KECO, was founded in 1961, annual power production was 1,770 GWh. Production reached 73,992 GWh in 1987. In that year, residential customers used 17.9% of total production, public and service businesses used 16.2%, and the industrial sector used 65.9%. Sources of power generation were primarily nuclear power, coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas. Of the 54,885 GWh of electricity generated in 1985, 22% came from nuclear plants then in operation, 74% from non-nuclear thermal plants (oil and coal), and 4% from hydroelectric sites. It was predicted in 1988 that the generation structure by the year 2000 would be 10.2% hydroelectric, 12.2% oil, 22.9% coal, 10.2% LNG, and 44.5% nuclear.

Statistics[edit]

Electricity production in South Korea, GWh
Source 2008 2009 2010 2011
Thermal 264,747 (62.7%) 278,400 (64.2%) 315,608 (66.5%) 324,354 (65.3%)
Nuclear 150,958 (35.7%) 147,771 (34.1%) 148,596 (31.3%) 154,723 (31.1%)
Hydro 5,561 (1.3%) 5,641 (1.3%) 6,472 (1.4%) 7,831 (1.6%)
Other 1,090 (0.3%) 1,791 (0.4%) 3,984 (0.8%) 9,985 (2.0%)
Total 422,355 433,604 474,660 496,893

Sources[edit]

Thermal[edit]

KOGAS (한국가스공사) acts as importer of LNG for the power generators.

Cogeneration and steam-heating[edit]

Nuclear Power[edit]

Main article: Nuclear power in South Korea
See also: Anti-nuclear movement in South Korea
Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan

South Korea placed a heavy emphasis on nuclear power generation. The country's first nuclear power plant, the Kori Number One located near Pusan, which opened in 1977. Eight plants operated in 1987 when atomic power generation was an estimated 71,158 million kilowatts, or 53.1% of total electric power.

Renewable energy[edit]

Main article: Renewable energy in South Korea

Storage[edit]

In December 2017, Hyundai Electric announced a plan to build a 150MW grid storage battery near Ulsan for Korea Zinc.[10]

Global warming[edit]

Development of carbon dioxide emissions
See also: Category:Climate change by country
Further information: Climate change in South Korea

According to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center CDIAC South Korea is among the top ten, namely ninth, highest country in carbon dioxide emissions in the period 1950-2005. The United States (25%), China (10%) and Russia (8%) are the countries with the highest carbon dioxide emissions from 1950 to 2005.[11]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Korea, South". US Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Which Direction for South Korean Electricity Policy?" (PDF). Korean Energy Economic Review 13 (2014) 145-178. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. ^ "South Korean President Details Phase-out of Coal, Nuclear Power". 1 August 2017.
  4. ^ Lee, Kyeongho (Ken) (2021-03-02). "South Korea's 9th Basic Plan for electricity – a step closer to carbon neutrality?". www.woodmac.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  5. ^ "International - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  6. ^ "South Korea - Country Commercial Guide". International Trade Administration.
  7. ^ http://www.polsoz.fu-berlin.de/polwiss/forschung/systeme/ffu/veranstaltungen_aktuell/veranstaltungen_downloads/11_salzburg/Leem.pdf[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ IEA Key World Energy Statistics Statistics 2015 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, 2014 (2012R as in November 2015 Archived 2015-04-05 at the Wayback Machine + 2012 as in March 2014 is comparable to previous years statistical calculation criteria, 2013 Archived 2014-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, 2012 Archived 2013-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, 2011 Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, 2010 Archived 2010-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, 2009 Archived 2013-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, 2006 Archived 2009-10-12 at the Wayback Machine IEA October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15
  9. ^ Energy in Sweden 2010 Archived 16 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Facts and figures, The Swedish Energy Agency, Table 8 Losses in nuclear power stations Table 9 Nuclear power brutto
  10. ^ Graham, Karen (7 December 2017). "Hyundai building 150 MW energy storage battery in South Korea". Digital Journal. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. ^ State of the world 2009, Worldwatch institute 2009, statistics 219-223, CDIAC Carbon dioxide information analysis center (http://www.cdiac.ornl.gov/trends[permanent dead link])
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