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Energy
Farmers able to check out duty-free oil prices at Opinet
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 16 that anyone can check out duty-free agricultural oil prices at Opinet (www.spinet.co.kr) launched and operated by the Korea National Oil Corporation. The website is designed to help farmers find the best price for their oil. While leaded and unleaded gasoline prices that have been open for comparison at the site, duty-free agricultural oil prices were not, leaving the farmers at a loss to find out the best price. To solve this problem, the MOTIE and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs joined hands to provide duty-free oil prices through Opinet from November 16. A total of 658 Nonghyup gas stations and 480 other brand gas stations have agreed to post their price on Opinet for farmers. The MOTIE plans to revise relevant laws and regulations to make it mandatory for all the remaining 4,544 gas stations in South Korea to post their oil prices on Opinet. Once revised, gas stations will also be forced to display their duty-free oil price in addition to leaded and unleaded gasoline prices starting from January 1, 2015, making it easier for farmers to know how much money they can save on tax. * Short version date2015-11-16
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Energy
MOTIE signs MOU to utilize warm water from power plants
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 12 that MOTIE and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries signed an MOU to remove barriers between their divisions for the utilization of the warm water from power plants. After signing the MOU, they created new fish farms around Boryeong Thermal Power Plant and Nam-Jeju Thermal Power Plant. These fish farms mostly grow spotted bass eggs and young striped beakfish. One example of using the power plant water for fish farming is the Busan Natural Gas Power Plant, which is a project participated by the power plant, Korea Maritime Institute and National Institute of Fisheries Science. A heat storage system is also installed to maximize the use of the warm water, so that the heat supply can cover a wider area. Korea is not the only country using the power plant water, as many European countries and the US have already been using the power plant water for fish farming, tropical botanical gardens and crocodile farms. As for Korea, the country plans to be competitive in using the power plant water as a new source of growth convergence with ITC. * Short version date2015-11-12
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Energy
New Shin Wolsong nuclear plant units 1 & 2 now in operation for more power supply
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 09 that Shin Wolsong Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2 with a power generation capacity of 1,000MW each are now in operation. The MOTIE held an opening ceremony at the new power plant units located in Wolseong, Gyeongju, South Korea on November 9, 2015 with the participation of more than 1,000 related parties and local residents. With these new units, total power reserves will increase by 3.4 percent, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 13 million tons. A total of 5 trillion won have been invested in this project since it was launched in October 2005, and over 700 billion worth of economic activities are expected to be generated from this. * Short version date2015-11-09
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Energy
Government to not tolerate local votes on Yeongdeok nuclear power plant
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Ministry of the Interior announced their official stance on local residents' vote on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Yeongdeok, Gyeongsangbuk-do on November 05. Both agencies asked the local residents not to participate in the vote saying "Any demands to turn over the decision to implement a national policy determined after voluntary requests of local governments and legitimate procedures through votes without any legal basis will not be tolerated." They announced that: 1) The votes are not legally valid according to the "Local Autonomy Act" and 2) Any forms of the Yeongdeok-gun Office's administrative support including facility, human resources and funding for the votes which has no legal basis, and votes by town leaders will not be tolerated. The government agencies further went on to say that they have proposed 10 different programs that are beneficial to the local residents on October 20 in reflection of their wishes and worries, and that these 10 programs will help the local residents protect their health and prevent them from their or their children's migration to other regions for reasons of education and jobs. This announcement will be signed both by the MOTIE and Minister of Interior, and sent to each of the towns in Yeongdeok-gun in the form of a letter. * Short version date2015-11-05
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Energy
MOTIE and Iraq Discuss Ways to Develop Energy Cooperation
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick welcomed a visit by Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister Fayadh Hassan Nima in his satellite office in Seoul this week to discuss energy cooperation between Korea and the Middle Eastern country. The visit came as the MOTIE hosted the 2nd Korea-Iraq Joint Committee for Oil Gas Cooperation meeting in Seoul this week eight years after the first meeting in 2007. MOTIE Second Vice Minister Moon Jae-do and his Iraqi counterpart Hassan led their delegations to discuss how to study and develop Iraq's abundant oil and gas together. date2015-10-28
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Energy
Energy vouchers to be given to those with low income to pay for energy bills
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 27 that MOTIE agreed to cooperate with a total of 13 organizations and businesses including Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Gas Corporation, BC, Lotte, and Samsung for successful implementation and improvement of the Energy Voucher Program. According to the agreement, more than 23,000 energy suppliers will form a credit card payment system for the beneficiaries of the voucher, as well as a virtual card that supplements plastic credit cards by deducting the amount from the utility bills. The virtual card will be used by the beneficiaries living in an apartment room or those who are not used to using a credit card, and the amount will be deducted directly from their utility bills. "Energy Vouchers" are issued to the underprivileged from the month of December to February the following year, and the voucher can be used to pay for electricity, gas, regional heating, briquettes, kerosene or propane gas. Elderly people, minors, and disabled people with an income less than 40 percent of the minimum income qualify for this voucher, and each voucher is worth around 100,000 won ($90) per household for a period of three months. * Short version date2015-10-27
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Energy
MOTIE's Deputy Energy Minister Attends 12th ASEAN+3 Ministers on Energy Meeting
Jung Yang-ho, deputy minister for energy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), attended the 12th ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, the Republic of Korea) Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM+3) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week. The meeting was part of the 33rd ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM 33) and related meetings, where participants agreed to continue cooperating in studying energy security solutions in the region such as nuclear power, oil stockpiling and clean coal technologies. date2015-10-13
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Energy
MOTIE 2nd Vice Minister Moon Speaks on Future of Global LNG Market
MOTIE's 2nd Vice Minister Moon Jae-do gave a speech at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2015 held in Tokyo, Japan, last week, which about 1,000 participants from 50 countries attended. In the speech, the South Korean vice minister discussed how producing and consuming countries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) should cooperate to stimulate the global LNG market in the era of low oil prices. date2015-09-21
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Energy
S. Korea Gets First Batch of Murban Crude Delivery from Abu Dhabi's New Oil Concession
S. Korea Gets First Batch of Murban Crude Delivery from Abu Dhabi's New Oil Concession South Korea celebrated the first delivery of 500,000 barrels of Murban crude from Abu Dhabi's new onshore oil concession to the southern port of Yeosu last week. It's the first batch of the crude produced from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s prime onshore concession participated in by GS Energy Corp., a unit of the Korean conglomerate GS Group. Moon Jae-do, second vice minister for trade, date2015-08-04
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Energy
Electricity Sales Trends in 2Q and Major Retailers Sales Trends in June 2015
Electricity Sales Trends in 2Q and Major Retailers Sales Trends in June 2015 □ The volume of South Korea's total electricity sales increased by 1.6 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter of 2015. ㅇ The overall electricity consumption increased, and in particular, the volume of electricity used for agriculture skyrocketed. This was mainly caused by a rise in the use of water lift pumps due to seasonal droughts. The volume of electricity sales for industrial use edged up by 0 date2015-07-30