Despite consuming 143 million tonnes of coal annually and importing over 98% of it, South Korea is undergoing a monumental energy transition, navigating a complex path from fossil-fuel dependence towards nuclear expansion and a renewable future.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, South Korea's coal consumption reached 143 million tonnes, accounting for 42% of total primary energy supply
- South Korea imported 98.5% of its coal needs in 2022, totaling 140.8 million tonnes from Australia (71%), Indonesia (14%), and Russia (8%)
- LNG imports to South Korea hit 48.2 million tonnes in 2022, making it the world's third-largest importer after Japan and China
- In 2021, nuclear power generated 92.2 TWh, representing 24.5% of total electricity production in South Korea
- South Korea operates 24 nuclear reactors with total capacity of 23.5 GW as of 2023
- APR1400 reactors at Barakah in UAE are South Korea's first export, with four units totaling 5.6 GW, operational since 2021
- Renewable energy capacity reached 28 GW in 2022, with solar at 22 GW and wind 2.1 GW onshore/offshore
- Solar PV installed capacity grew 64% to 24.4 GW in 2023, driven by RPS targets
- Offshore wind target 12 GW by 2030, with 1st phase 8.2 GW tendered in 2021
- Total final energy consumption in South Korea was 229 Mtoe in 2022, down 2% from 2021
- Industry sector consumed 54% of total energy in 2022, primarily steel and chemicals
- Transport energy use 28 Mtoe in 2022, 85% oil products, EVs at 0.4% share
- Total electricity generation was 593 TWh in 2022, with peak demand 94.1 GW in August
- Transmission losses 3.2% of generation in 2022, KEPCO grid covers 99.9% population
- Smart grid investments KRW 8 trillion by 2023, with 1.2 million smart meters installed
South Korea heavily relies on imported energy while shifting its power mix toward nuclear and renewables.
Electricity Sector
- Total electricity generation was 593 TWh in 2022, with peak demand 94.1 GW in August
- Transmission losses 3.2% of generation in 2022, KEPCO grid covers 99.9% population
- Smart grid investments KRW 8 trillion by 2023, with 1.2 million smart meters installed
- Electricity exports to North Korea via HVDC link averaged 0.1 TWh annually pre-2016 suspension
- Pumped storage hydro 7 GW capacity, providing 70% of ancillary services
- Retail electricity price 0.12 USD/kWh in 2022, among lowest in OECD
- Carbon capture utilization storage (CCUS) pilot at Taean power plant captures 1 MtCO2/year since 2017
- Energy mix policy 9th Basic Plan targets 21.6% LNG, 36.9% coal, 30% nuclear, 21.6% renewables by 2034
- Coal phase-down to 28.6% electricity share by 2034 from 36.5% in 2022
- Interconnection capacity with China via HVDC 3 GW planned by 2026
- Battery ESS auctions 2 GW in 2023 for frequency regulation
- Wholesale electricity price avg KRW 140/kWh in 2023 peak summer
- Microgrids 50 sites total 100 MW by 2023, Jeju island lead
- Coal plant retirements 4 GW by 2026 under phase-out
- Demand response program reduced peak 2 GW in 2022 summer
- Grid digitalization AMI meters 4 million by 2023, 10% households
- Electricity tariffs raised 20% to KRW 93/kWh residential avg 2023
- Renewable portfolio standard compliance 95% utilities 2023
- Frequency control ancillary services 2 GW procured via auctions
- Substation automation 80% digitalized by 2023
- HVDC lines 5 circuits total 3,000 km for renewables integration
- Cyber security incidents power grid 12 in 2022, all mitigated
Electricity Sector Interpretation
South Korea’s grid hums with efficient, government-directed precision, deftly balancing nuclear loyalty and a slow coal divorce while flirting with high-tech solutions and worrying about the neighbor's lights, all to keep the power cheap, the lights on, and the digital future charged.
Energy Consumption
- Total final energy consumption in South Korea was 229 Mtoe in 2022, down 2% from 2021
- Industry sector consumed 54% of total energy in 2022, primarily steel and chemicals
- Transport energy use 28 Mtoe in 2022, 85% oil products, EVs at 0.4% share
- Residential energy consumption per capita 1.8 toe in 2022, with district heating 40%
- Commercial sector energy demand grew 3% to 18 Mtoe in 2022, driven by services
- Total electricity consumption 555 TWh in 2022, up 1.2% YoY
- Energy intensity (toe per $1000 GDP) improved to 0.12 in 2022 from 0.13 in 2021
- LPG consumption 12.5 million tonnes in 2022, mainly for petrochemicals and heating
- EV charging demand projected to reach 10 TWh by 2030, currently 0.5 TWh in 2022
- Total primary energy demand 281 Mtoe in 2022, fossil 78%
- Steel industry energy use 40 Mtoe in 2022, 70% coal-based
- Road transport 90% of sector energy, avg fuel economy 6.5 L/100km
- Building energy codes cover 40% floor space, efficiency improved 20% since 2017
- District heating covers 70% urban buildings, 15% total energy
- Electricity per capita 10.8 MWh in 2022, top 10 globally
- Final energy by fuel: oil 40%, electricity 23%, gas 18% in 2022
- Semiconductor sector electricity 20 TWh in 2022, 4% total demand
- Industrial energy efficiency improved 2.5% YoY to 35% in 2022
- Air transport fuel 5 Mt in 2022, jet A1 95%
- Household electricity 120 kWh/month avg, AC peak summer 30%
- Coke consumption 70 Mt for steelmaking 2022
- Final electricity demand industry 280 TWh, services 100 TWh 2022
- Natural gas consumption industry 40 bcm, residential 10 bcm 2022
- Shipbuilding energy intensity down 15% since 2015 to 0.8 toe/ship
Energy Consumption Interpretation
South Korea's energy landscape is a paradoxical mix of industrious might—where steel and chemicals gulp over half the nation's power—and emerging green shoots, as seen in its world-leading electricity use per capita and improving efficiency, yet its transport sector remains stubbornly married to oil with EVs barely a blip on the radar.
Fossil Fuels
- In 2022, South Korea's coal consumption reached 143 million tonnes, accounting for 42% of total primary energy supply
- South Korea imported 98.5% of its coal needs in 2022, totaling 140.8 million tonnes from Australia (71%), Indonesia (14%), and Russia (8%)
- LNG imports to South Korea hit 48.2 million tonnes in 2022, making it the world's third-largest importer after Japan and China
- Crude oil imports stood at 817 million barrels in 2022, with Saudi Arabia supplying 22%, UAE 15%, and US 12%
- Coal-fired power generation contributed 36.5% of total electricity in 2022, down from 41.6% in 2021 due to carbon reduction efforts
- South Korea's refinery capacity reached 3.1 million barrels per day in 2023, operated by GS Caltex, SK Energy, and S-Oil
- Natural gas share in primary energy mix was 15.2% in 2022, up 1.5% from previous year
- Coal production domestic was only 0.7 million tonnes in 2022, covering less than 0.5% of consumption
- Oil product consumption was 2.45 million b/d in 2022, with gasoline at 0.45 mb/d and diesel 0.92 mb/d
- South Korea's strategic petroleum reserves held 147 days of net imports in 2023, exceeding IEA minimum of 90 days
- In 2022, coal imports cost USD 38 billion, 25% of total energy import bill
- Oil import bill USD 102 billion in 2022, up 50% due to price surge
- LNG regasification capacity 50 million tonnes/year across 5 terminals in 2023
- Domestic gas production negligible at 0.01 bcm in 2022, 100% import dependent
- Coal plant efficiency average 38% in 2022, with supercritical units at 42%
- SK Innovation refinery in Ulsan processes 840,000 bpd, largest in Korea
- Bunker fuel demand 15 million tonnes in 2022 at Busan port, world's 2nd busiest
- Petrochemical feedstock from naphtha 18 million tonnes in 2022
- In 2023, coal-fired capacity 57 GW, 40% of total 144 GW installed
- LNG-fired capacity 42 GW CCGT, load factor 55% in 2022
- Oil-fired peaking plants 5 GW, used <1% time
- Coal mine methane emissions 1.2 MtCO2eq avoided via utilization 2022
- Flaring gas volume 0.1 bcm in 2022, low globally
- Bio-coal blending pilots at 10% in 2 plants, reducing imports 0.5 Mt
Fossil Fuels Interpretation
South Korea runs a high-performance economy on a shockingly precarious energy diet, importing virtually all the fuel for its voracious industrial appetite while walking a tightrope between energy security, staggering costs, and its ambitious carbon reduction pledges.
Nuclear Power
- In 2021, nuclear power generated 92.2 TWh, representing 24.5% of total electricity production in South Korea
- South Korea operates 24 nuclear reactors with total capacity of 23.5 GW as of 2023
- APR1400 reactors at Barakah in UAE are South Korea's first export, with four units totaling 5.6 GW, operational since 2021
- Nuclear fuel cycle includes domestic enrichment feasibility studies, with current reliance on imports for 100% of uranium
- Shin Kori 5&6 units under construction, each 1400 MWe, expected completion 2025, boosting capacity by 2.8 GW
- Nuclear share targeted to rise to 30% by 2030 under revised energy plan, from current 25%
- KHNP operates all nuclear plants, with lifetime extension for older units like Kori 1 from 40 to 60 years approved
- Small Modular Reactor (SMR) development i-SMR 170 MW by KHNP, demonstration by 2030
- Nuclear R&D budget was KRW 700 billion in 2023, focusing on Gen IV reactors
- Decommissioning fund for nuclear plants accumulated KRW 1.2 trillion by 2022
- Nuclear capacity factor averaged 82% in 2022 for operable reactors
- Wolseong NPP units 1-4 total 2.8 GW, Hanul renamed, license extended
- Uranium imports 1,200 tonnes U in 2022, from Canada 40%, Kazakhstan 30%
- Pyroprocessing R&D at KAERI for spent fuel, capacity 10 tonnes/year demo
- Shin Hanul 3&4 under construction, 2.8 GW total, start 2027
- Nuclear export bids for Czech 4 units 4.4 GW APR1400 won in 2024
- Radiation exposure public dose 1.9 mSv/year in 2022, below global avg 2.4
- SMR export deal with Poland for 720 MWe discussed 2023
- Nuclear electricity production up 5% to 97 TWh in 2023 despite outages
- HANARO research reactor 30 MW, supplied isotopes 20% domestic needs
- Spent fuel storage wet pools full, dry cask interim storage 2,000 tons started 2023
- Generation 4 reactor prototype SFR 150 MWe design complete 2023
- Nuclear skilled workforce 20,000, training academy graduates 500/year
- Radiation monitoring stations 250 nationwide, real-time data public
Nuclear Power Interpretation
South Korea, fueled by its own ambitious atomic orchestra, is expertly conducting a global nuclear symphony—from building reactors at home and abroad to chasing fuel independence—yet still faces the delicate encore of managing its spent fuel and securing its uranium supply.
Renewable Energy
- Renewable energy capacity reached 28 GW in 2022, with solar at 22 GW and wind 2.1 GW onshore/offshore
- Solar PV installed capacity grew 64% to 24.4 GW in 2023, driven by RPS targets
- Offshore wind target 12 GW by 2030, with 1st phase 8.2 GW tendered in 2021
- Hydropower capacity stable at 6.9 GW, generating 24 TWh annually (5% of electricity)
- Bioenergy capacity 0.8 GW, mostly waste-to-energy plants, contributing 1.2% renewables
- Green hydrogen strategy aims for 5 GW electrolyzer capacity by 2030
- RPS mandate requires 10% renewables in electricity by 2023, achieved at 8.9%
- Floating solar projects total 2 GW planned, with Yeongheung 1.2 GW largest in development
- Geothermal potential estimated at 1 GW, with pilot plants at 0.05 GW operational
- Energy storage systems (ESS) for renewables reached 6.2 GW by 2023, mostly lithium-ion
- Wind capacity added 1.1 GW in 2023, total onshore 1.8 GW offshore 0.3 GW
- Solar auctions awarded 3.5 GW in 2023 at avg 3.5 US cents/kWh
- Azalea offshore wind 480 MW COD 2023, first commercial scale
- Biofuel blending E2 gasoline standard since 2022, consumption 0.8 Mt ethanol equiv
- Hydrogen mobility 200 FCEVs and 12 stations in 2022, target 40,000 by 2030
- REC trade volume KRW 5 trillion in 2023 under RPS
- Floating offshore wind testbed 20 MW Ulsan operational 2024
- Agrivoltaics solar 100 MW installed by 2023, policy support expanded
- Renewables curtailment 0.5% in 2022, managed via ESS integration
- Solar self-consumption rooftop 5 GW cumulative 2023, net metering policy
- Wind turbine manufacturing domestic 80% localization, Doosan Enerbility lead
- Green bonds issued KRW 10 trillion for RE 2022-2023
- Energy from waste incineration 4 TWh, 200 plants total 3 GW thermal
- Ocean energy testbed 1 MW wave Ulsan
- RE target raised to 32% TPES by 2030 in 10th plan draft 2024
- Corporate PPAs 2 GW solar/wind signed 2023 by Samsung, SK
Renewable Energy Interpretation
South Korea's energy transition is a meticulously calculated solar sprint with a side of offshore wind ambition, held together by policy glue and a hopeful glance at hydrogen, proving you can build a new grid one gigawatt at a time.
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