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| Fig. 1: Kori Nuclear Power Plant, owned and operated by KHNP. (Source: Wikimedia Commons). |
South Korea is a major global energy consumer, ranking 7th in the world in 2021. The country's energy sector has a high dependence on energy imports, which accounted for 84% of total primary energy supply (TPES) in 2018. [1] In particular, South Korea imported 98% of its fossil fuel consumption in 2021. [2] South Korea uses tanker shipments exclusively for its substantial crude oil and liquefied natural gas imports, as it lacks international pipelines. [2] Among the high percentage of imports in South Korea's energy mix, nuclear power is the country's primary source of domestic energy production, accounting for 69% in 2021. However, it represented only 11% of total primary energy consumption in the same year. [2,3]
South Korea relies on energy imports primarily for petroleum, natural gas, and coal. In 2021, South Korea was the 8th largest consumer of petroleum in the world, using 2.6 million barrels per day (b/d), equivalent to 5.6 Exajoules (EJ) /year. [2] To meet this demand, it imported 2.9 million barrels per day (b/d), equivalent to 6.4 EJ/year, ranking as the 4th largest crude oil importer globally. In 2021, 60% of these imports originated from the Middle East. [2] In addition, South Korea was the 3rd largest LNG importer globally in 2021, right after China and Japan. The country imported 2.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of LNG, equivalent to 2.23 EJ/year, and its consumption was nearly the same as imports, which were 2.1 Tcf, equivalent to 2.13 EJ/year in 2021. [2] 25% of the imports in 2022 came from Australia, 21% from Qatar, 13% from the United States, and 12% from Malaysia. [2] Last but not least, South Korea's consumption of coal was 139 million short tons, equivalent to 3.48 EJ/year in 2021, showing a slight increase from 2019. [2,3] Domestic production was less than 1 million short tons, equivalent to 0.025 EJ/year, making up a tiny fraction of demand. Therefore, South Korea relies almost entirely on imports, of which 49% came from Australia, 17% from Indonesia, and 17% from Russia in 2021. [2]
Beyond South Korea's reliance on energy imports, nuclear power has been a significant exception. Out of the nation's total domestic primary energy production in 2021, 69% was nuclear power, which also provided 11% of South Korea's total primary energy consumption that same year. [2] Nuclear energy's most notable role is in electricity generation, in which it produced 150.5 billion kWh in 2021, equivalent to 0.54 EJ/year, making up 26% of the national total. [2,3] In 2020, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) operated 24 reactors with a recorded total capacity of 21.9 GWe, equivalent to 0.69 EJ. [1] The Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan, South Korea (shown in Fig. 1) is one of the many running reactors under KHNP.
In 2010, nuclear power reached 31% of total electricity generation, but the output declined since then due to maintenance issues and a previous government policy aimed at phasing it out. [1,2] This policy, outlined in the 8th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand and the 3rd Energy Master Plan (2019-2040), made efforts not to extend the lifetimes of existing reactors beyond their initial timeline and cancelled plans for new reactors beyond those already under construction. [1] However, the 10th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand, released in late 2022, reversed this policy, which called for nuclear power's percentage in electricity generation to reach 32% by 2030 and 35% by 2036. This policy has kick-started construction projects aimed at creating a total of 6 new reactors, planned to be operational by 2033. [2]
South Korea heavily depends on imported energy. Petroleum, LNG, and coal imports satisfy the majority of the country's energy demand. To enhance energy security and reduce reliance on imports in the context of South Korea's energy transition goals, domestic nuclear power production plays an important role in providing a large share of electricity generation and is the lead domestic primary energy output, with government policy plans to continue expanding. [1,2]
© Katy Shin. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] 'Korea 2020: Energy Policy Review," International Energy Agency, November 2020.
[2] "Country Analysis Brief: South Korea," U.S. Energy Information Administration, April 2023.
[3] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022," British Petroleum, June 2022.
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