Minister An's Press Briefing on the 7th
Need to Normalize Electricity and Gas Prices but Concerned About Direct Impact on Livelihoods
Exports Are the Only Means of Economic Growth... Will Achieve $700 Billion in Exports
The '11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (Jeon-gibon) Draft,' which outlines the basic direction of national electricity policy including power demand and supply facility plans up to 2038, will be announced within this month.
On the 7th, Minister An Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated at a press briefing, "We plan to announce the 11th Jeon-gibon draft within this month." This is the first time the Minister has directly indicated the announcement timing.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy began early preparations for the Jeon-gibon last July. This was in response to recommendations from the Energy Committee that expanding power supply capacity, including reviewing new nuclear power plants, is necessary. Since the core of the 11th Jeon-gibon is the 'scale of new nuclear power plant construction,' conflicts between ruling and opposition parties are expected, so the government postponed the release of the draft until after the 22nd National Assembly elections.
Minister An viewed the expansion of nuclear power generation as inevitable. He emphasized, "In Korea's situation, there is no way to supply power to advanced industries with renewable energy alone. It is impossible to cover it without nuclear power," adding, "The European Union (EU) also includes nuclear power in carbon neutrality, which is a global trend, and if we can utilize our technology and ensure safety, it is wise and rational to make good use of nuclear power."
The government announced a policy of 'freezing public utility rates until the first half of the year' through the economic policy direction announced earlier this year. There have been forecasts that from the second half of the year, rate increases will be inevitable depending on inflation and international energy prices. Minister An responded, "Normalization of electricity and gas rates must be done and is urgent," but also explained, "When rates increase, it directly hits people's livelihoods amid rising prices and increases the burden on industries, so we are comprehensively reviewing to find an appropriate timing. However, since the Middle East situation remains unstable, we are continuing to monitor it." This indicates a cautious stance on immediately raising electricity and gas rates.
Regarding the possibility of winning a new nuclear power plant order in the Czech Republic, estimated at around 30 trillion won, he expressed optimism. The Czech Republic is promoting a project to build a total of four nuclear reactors (each under 1.2GW) by 2036, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power submitted the final bid on the 29th of last month. The Czech Republic plans to announce the preferred negotiation partner as early as the end of next month.
Minister An said, "The competing country, France, has faced major problems with domestic and overseas nuclear power plant orders, with costs rising several times higher than originally planned and delays of several years. Korea, however, has experience constructing four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the scheduled period, which is drawing attention in the Czech Republic," adding, "France is also a European country and has formed a European nuclear alliance, so politically and diplomatically we are at a disadvantage, but we are making every effort and will have to wait and see the results."
He emphasized the impact of exports on the Korean economy and pledged to do his best to achieve $700 billion in exports this year. Minister An stated, "There is no visible engine or driving force to raise our economic growth rate domestically, and the only means to increase the growth rate is exports," adding, "It is the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's responsibility to create an opportunity for Korea's economic growth rate to rise to the high 2% or 3% range through exports."
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