South Korea’s President Calls for Urgent Shift to Renewable Energy

South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung has issued an urgent call for the country to rapidly move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, warning that continued reliance on imported energy threatens national security and economic stability.

“Relying on fossil energy is extremely dangerous for the future,” Lee said. “We do not produce these resources ourselves, and chasing imports has led to the current crisis.”

A Nation Exposed by Crisis

South Korea imports approximately 94 percent of its energy, leaving it highly vulnerable to global supply disruptions. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East involving Iran, the United States, and Israel has made that vulnerability impossible to ignore.

The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass, struck directly at South Korea’s energy lifeline. Brent crude prices surged to $115.73 per barrel, the highest level since 2022.

The damage went beyond rising prices. Qatar, one of South Korea’s key suppliers of liquefied natural gas, declared force majeure on long-term contracts after military strikes damaged its facilities. That move signaled that even long-standing supply agreements offer no guaranteed protection during geopolitical crises.

Government Sets Ambitious Targets

In response, South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment released its 2026 Energy Transition Plan, laying out a sweeping strategy to reshape how the country powers itself.

The plan calls for deploying 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, which would raise renewables to at least 20 percent of total electricity generation. Currently, renewables account for just 11.4 percent of power output.

Solar and wind will lead the expansion, given their faster deployment timelines and falling costs. The government has also committed to phasing out 60 coal-fired power plants by 2040, alongside a major push into hydrogen energy and grid modernization.

Nuclear Stays in the Mix

The transition plan does not abandon nuclear power. South Korea currently operates 26 reactor units, supplying around 31 percent of the country’s electricity. The government confirmed that new nuclear projects will proceed and that existing reactors will have their lifespans extended where feasible.

Officials view nuclear as a stable foundation during the transition, capable of filling gaps left by the variable output of solar and wind. Plans also include deploying 700 megawatts of small modular reactor capacity by 2038.

Real Costs and Real Pressures

Implementation will not be simple. South Korea’s electricity demand is rising fast, driven in part by the boom in artificial intelligence and data centers. Domestic data center power capacity is projected to grow from 1,960 megawatts in 2025 to 6,320 megawatts by the end of the decade.

The government has also shown signs of short-term pressure overriding long-term goals. When the Middle East crisis worsened, officials delayed the closure of three coal plants already scheduled for shutdown and lifted caps on coal power generation. Coal currently accounts for 30 percent of total power generation.

Workers and communities tied to the coal industry face disruption as well. A just transition framework has been proposed, including job redeployment programs and regional economic support. Estimates suggest that closing coal plants by 2035 would require roughly 1.8 trillion Korean won in transition assistance.

The Bigger Picture

The United Nations has noted that renewable energy offers “the clearest, cheapest path to energy security and sovereignty, shielding countries and economies from shocks unleashed by wars, trade turmoil and the ‘might-is-right’ politics.”

For South Korea, that argument has moved from abstract to urgent. The Middle East crisis has given political momentum to a transition that might otherwise have moved far more slowly.

Whether that momentum holds under continued short-term pressure remains the central question facing President Lee’s administration.

References

• South Korea Advances Energy Transition Strategy to Strengthen Resilience and Green Industry – DIG Watch
• South Korea’s Energy Crisis and Presidential Response – The Independent
• Renewable Energy and Global Energy Security – United Nations