South Korea’s new industry minister, Lee Chang-yang, has vowed to revise the country’s energy policy to use nuclear energy to ensure energy security and achieve zero-emission targets, Yonhap news agency reported.
The move reverses the previous administration’s plan to phase out nuclear power.
“We will review the country’s energy policy from a scientific point of view to strengthen the country’s energy security and increase the likelihood of achieving the goals,” Lee said at the inauguration ceremony in Sejong, a city 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
“We will ensure a stable energy supply through a balance of nuclear power and renewable energy sources and prepare to meet emission reduction targets by 2030.”
South Korea is also working on revising the country’s carbon neutrality scheme, which aims to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 from 2018 levels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
South Korea currently operates 19 out of 24 nuclear reactors, accounting for about 28% of the country’s total electricity generation. The previous government aimed to reduce the number of operating reactors to 17 by 2034.
Lee also promised to make efforts to develop energy fields such as carbon neutrality and hydrogen, in line with the rapidly changing environment in the sector, as new growth drivers.