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Country report
Jun 2007
Energy Policies of IEA Countries: The Republic of Korea 2006
…enhancement of its policy goals – adding economic efficiency and environmental sustainability to energy security – is commendable. Building on the liberalisation of its economy, the Republic of Korea set out an ambitious plan for reform of its state-controlled natural gas and electricity industries. However, the plans have been stalled and there is currently little vision for effective reform going forward. As the economy makes the transition to one with less phenomenal, more sustainable and less predictable growth, the IEA encourages the Republic of Korea to press forward with liberalisation in order to underpin a more flexible and efficient energy sector…
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Country report
Nov 2020
Korea 2020
…IEA countries. The Korean government is committed to advance the country’s energy transition by increasing the share of renewable electricity to 20% by 2030 and to 30-35% by 2040, to gradually phase-out coal and nuclear from the energy mix while significantly improving energy efficiency, and by fostering the country’s nascent hydrogen industry. Under the Paris Agreement, Korea is committed to limit its emissions to 536 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-eq) in 2030; in 2018, emissions were 709 Mt CO2-eq.Reaching these ambitious targets will require Korea to substantially enhance decarbonisation efforts across all energy sectors…
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Article
16 Aug 2021
Korea Climate Resilience Policy Indicator
…the current level (RCP 8.5), the number of heatwave days and summer days could increase by 25.4 and 66.2 respectively, while cold-wave days could decrease by 6.2 at the end of the century (2071-2100)Temperature changes are already affecting energy demand for heating and cooling. In the last two decades, the number of heating degree days (HDDs) has decreased while cooling degree days (CDDs) have followed an upward trend. This change is likely to raise energy demand for cooling and reduce consumption for heating. In the mid-2020s, electricity demand for summer cooling is expected…
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Article
07 Mar 2023
Korea Electricity Security Policy
Country Energy Security Policy - Electricity Overview and generation portfolio Electricity generation in Korea is heavily dependent on coal, which represents over 40% of total generation. The vast majority of the remaining electricity generation derives from natural gas and nuclear energy, in roughly equal shares. Renewable energies account for a growing but still small proportion, and are expected to reach 21.6% of total electricity generation by 2030. Korea’s power grid is an isolated system with no cross-border transmission lines; therefore, electricity demand is met entirely through local production. Korea has an electricity emergency response manual outlining response procedures…
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Country report
Jun 2002
Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Republic of Korea 2002
…the 26th Member of the IEA and when the country’s energy policies are being substantially reformed, to mobilise investments and increase efficiency.
The report brings information on all energy sectors (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, electricity, renewables) showing what role different energy sources could play in the context of a heavily dependency on external sources of energy.
The report analyses the effect of efficiency measures to reduce the energy intensity of the Korean economy, still one of the highest of the IEA countries.
A special attention is paid to the assessment of the energy policy reforms currently unfolding in Korea… -
Country report
Nov 2025
Korea 2025
…was prepared in partnership between the Government of Korea and the IEA. It draws on the IEA’s extensive knowledge and the inputs of expert peers from IEA Member countries to assess Korea’s most pressing energy sector challenges and provide recommendations on how to address them, backed by international best practices. The report also highlights areas where Korea’s leadership can serve as an example in promoting secure and clean energy transitions. It also promotes the exchange of best practices among countries to foster learning, build consensus and strengthen political will for a sustainable and affordable energy future. Translation
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Country report
Jan 2021
Korea Electricity Security Review
…electricity in total final energy consumption is projected to increase from around 20% today to more than 30% by 2040. Objectives for greater deployment of hydrogen in energy systems will also rely on additional electricity demand.These developments require policy makers to think about electricity security, which is the power system’s capability to ensure uninterrupted availability of electricity by withstanding and recovering from disturbances. The IEA looks at electricity security from three angles: adequacy, operational security and resilience. These three building blocks underpin each section of this report. Jointly written by the IEA and the Korean Energy Economics Institute …
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Country report
Dec 2021
Reforming Korea's Electricity Market for Net Zero
…the emissions implications of the plans laid out in Korea’s 9th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand and the Carbon Neutral Strategy published in 2021. The analysis includes a scenario elaborated by the IEA, based on the World Energy Outlook's Announced Pledges Scenario for 2035, to analyse potential for further market improvements.This analysis covers market improvements in areas such as carbon pricing, market price enhancements that better reward low-emissions technologies and security of supply, and market access reforms to ensure the participation of a wider range of new technologies and distributed energy resources.
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Country report
Mar 2023
Strategies for Coal Transition in Korea
…world, where we extract the main recommendations that are applicable to the case of Korea.Currently, the power sector is the largest CO2-emitting sector and coal is the single biggest source of CO2 emissions, as it is the backbone of many electricity systems. Thus, coal power plants have been a target for reaching net zero emissions by 2050 for long time. Korea has firm objectives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, aiming to accelerate the clean energy transition of coal power plants. Policy recommendations were formulated around two priorities: affordable and secure supply of electricity and people-centred transition.
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Fuel report
Feb 2019
Oil Market Report - February 2019
The IEA Oil Market Report (OMR) is one of the world’s most authoritative and timely sources of data, forecasts and analysis on the global oil market – including detailed statistics and commentary on oil supply, demand, inventories, prices and refining activity, as well as oil trade for IEA and selected non-IEA countries. Highlights Our global demand estimate for 2018 is unchanged. Growth in 4Q18 was robust at 1.4 mb/d y-o-y and for 2018 as a whole growth was 1.3 mb/d. China (0.44 mb/d), India (0.21 mb/d) and the US (0.54 mb/d) contributed 1.19 mb/d…