[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "We will continue to pursue the energy transition policy without wavering." (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's position immediately after the announcement of the Board of Audit and Inspection's evaluation of the economic feasibility of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant on the 20th of last month) "Do not shrink back, but straighten your shoulders and confidently move forward." (Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on the 25th)
Energy policy is considered a sensitive area even within the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, described as "work standing on a blade's edge" and an "extreme job." The workload is heavy, and it is often entangled with political issues. Because of this, within the government, bold energy policies are referred to as "active administration."
The 9th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (9th Electricity Plan), which is South Korea's electricity supply and demand plan for the next 15 years, is the most closely watched "active administration" among the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's remaining energy policies this year.
It is known that the Ministry decided not to include Shinhanul Units 3 and 4, whose construction has been halted, in the 9th Electricity Plan. This maintains the existing national policy philosophy to strongly pursue both "coal phase-out" and "nuclear phase-out," the two pillars of the energy transition policy.
The remaining procedures are "government proposal confirmation → report to the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee (Sanjoongwi) → finalization and announcement by the Electricity Policy Deliberation Committee." The government proposal confirmation stage has effectively entered its final steps after the Electricity Policy Deliberation Committee concluded on the 24th.
For the Ministry, this means gaining momentum to boldly expand the generation and facility share of new and renewable energy (such as solar and wind), which was the core of the 9th Electricity Plan.
Previously, President Moon Jae-in declared to the world on the 28th of last month that South Korea will achieve carbon neutrality (carbon emissions minus carbon absorption = 0) by 2050, and Prime Minister Chung cheered on the 25th. On the 27th, President Moon announced the establishment of a new energy vice-minister position within the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Since the Ministry of Environment sent the "Basic Plan Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Consultation Documents" to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 28th of last month, and the prosecution investigating the Wolseong case also drew a line by stating, "This is not about whether the nuclear power policy is right or wrong," there is virtually no variable to block the national task of "nuclear phase-out."
On May 8th, the working group, an advisory body for the 9th Electricity Plan, presented provisional projections for the share of power generation by energy source as "New and renewable energy 5.2% (2019) → 20.2% (2030) → 26.3% (2034), coal 40.4% → 31.4% → 28.6%, nuclear power 25.9% → 24.4% → 23.6%."
This means increasing new and renewable energy while reducing coal and nuclear power.
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