[Reporter's Notebook] Expectations for Kim Jungkwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Nominee

"We do everything except solar power."

This is a phrase often heard from officials at Doosan Enerbility. The company manufactures and sells turbine products suitable for various energy sources, including nuclear, wind, hydrogen, and gas?everything except solar power.

The mention of the company’s products is significant because Kim Jungkwan, President of Marketing at Doosan Enerbility, has been nominated as the first Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy in the Lee Jaemyung administration. While the Lee administration has declared a commitment to strengthening renewable energy, it has not clearly stated its position on nuclear power, which is a carbon-free energy source. This has raised concerns that the phase-out of nuclear energy, as seen during the previous Moon Jaein administration, might be revived.

Doosan Enerbility is considered a representative energy company that suffered business downsizing and suspension of orders due to the nuclear phase-out policy of the Moon Jaein administration. The appointment of the company’s marketing chief to head the ministry in charge of industrial policy provides an indirect clue to the current administration’s stance on nuclear energy.

Kim has been recognized as a key figure overseeing practical affairs at a time when energy exports?including nuclear, hydrogen turbines, offshore wind, and small modular reactors (SMRs)?are crucial. He is credited with leading major memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to pioneer new markets in regions such as Central Asia. There are growing expectations that he will pursue a pragmatic approach focused on areas with technological competitiveness, moving beyond the dichotomy of renewable energy versus nuclear power to seek new industrial pathways.

On his way to the personnel hearing preparation office on the 30th, Kim also expressed his views on energy policy. He said, "Having been in charge of global marketing in the past, I have felt firsthand the difficulties faced by companies," and added, "Industry and energy are inseparable." This is interpreted as meaning that energy policy should be focused on strengthening domestic industry. He also stated at the time, "Energy is the heart of industry."

It cannot be said that the policy direction of promoting eco-friendly, carbon-free energy is wrong. Strategies such as agrivoltaics, distributed generation, and expansion of the power grid?essentially, a 'solar-centered distributed strategy'?should continue. However, energy policy needs to be based on technology and reality, not ideology. The nomination of Kim can ultimately be interpreted as reflecting the current administration’s intention to pursue energy pragmatism.

Kim’s practical sense, grounded in field experience, should serve as a balancing point for energy policy and industrial strategy. Given the status and role of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which oversees all aspects of industry, trade, and energy, Kim’s realistic understanding of industry is more important than ever.