Electricity in South Korea in 2023

As of 2023, South Korea's electricity consumption primarily relies on fossil energy, accounting for a little over 60% of the total energy mix. This fossil energy is largely derived from coal and gas, with these two sources contributing to almost 60% of the fossil energy share. Low-carbon or clean energy accounts for close to 40% of the electricity generation. Among the low-carbon energy sources, nuclear power contributes the most at 29%, followed by solar, biofuels, and hydropower source that makes up the remaining share.

Suggestions

Looking forward, to increase the share of low-carbon electricity, South Korea can potentially gain insights from countries like France, Slovakia, and Switzerland, where nuclear energy accounts for more than 50% of their electricity generation. The nation can look into expanding its existing nuclear energy capacity. Learning from these nations, South Korea has an opportunity to leverage its current success in nuclear energy production, and further reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.

History

Looking back at the history of low-carbon electricity generation in South Korea, over the years, there has been a substantial increase in the generation of electricity from nuclear energy. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the increase in nuclear electricity from one year to the next was often well above 10 TWh. In the mid-2000s, there were especially strong increases in nuclear power generation, with increases ranging from 7 to 17 TWh per year. However, there were also significant declines in nuclear generation in 2017 and 2018. These declines were followed by recoveries in the subsequent years, with considerable increases in nuclear generation seen in 2019 and 2022. It is important for South Korea to maintain this positive trend and work towards increasing its low-carbon electricity production.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

Data Sources