Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Energy-related new industries

* Examples include demand management programs, energy management services, electric vehicle services, energy independent islands, solar energy rental services, use of thermal effluent from power plants. * Electricity market mechanism: The Korean electricity market is operated by the Korea Power Exchange, and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) buys electricity in order of price from lowest to highest based on unit cost of production and supply potential information submitted by generators. * (before) Demand reduction through government spending → (after) Demand reduction through the participation of demand management companies in the electricity market ※ Total electricity savings are expected to reach 1.9 million kW by 2017, accounting for 2.5% of peak demand (76.52 million kW in 2013). * It is difficult for solar PV and wind power to provide consistent output due to changes in weather conditions and wind velocity. Even though ESS can provide society with such g date2014-12-30

Establishment of stable and efficient energy supply system

date2014-12-30

Promotion of new and renewable energy

"The Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use, and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy" defines new and renewable energy as energy resources converted from existing fossil fuel resources or renewable energy sources, including the sun, water, geothermal heat, precipitation, and bio-organisms. The Act identifies 11 such resources, including solar energy, bioenergy, wind power, hydro power, fuel cells, liquefied or gasified coal, gasified heavy oil residue, tidal power, waste-to-energy, geothermal energy, and hydrogen energy. Despite its weak economic feasibility due to the lack of price competitiveness and the high initial investment costs, new and renewable energy is becoming increasingly important and necessary as a key solution to fossil fuel depletion and other environmental issues. As of 2012, the penetration rate of new and renewable energy was 3.18% that of primary energy. This rate rose by 10.9% annually on average from 2008 to 2012, almost three times faster than the 3.7% annual average growth of primary energy penetration during the same period. Waste-to-energy and bioenergy represented 80% of the entire new/renewable energy supply base, while solar energy and wind power accounted for just 5%. MOTIE will employ and spread revenue models that are backed by consumer participation (e.g. collaboration with residents, eco-friendly energy towns), which would increase the use of new/renewable energy through the participation of the general public and sharing of results. MOTIE will also implement unsubsidized rental projects in which private firms provide necessary servi date2014-12-30

Energy & Mineral Resources Development Symposium 2014

– The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that the Energy & Mineral Resources Development Symposium 2014 was held on Dec. 4 in Seoul.   Approximately 600 people from Korea and abroad participated in the symposium, which was held under the theme of ‘Technology Innovation and Strategy to Cope with the Paradigm Shift in Energy & Mineral Resources Development.’   In his keynote speech, Sonn Yang-hoon, president of Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), said that South Korea should make strategic investments in low-risk and capacity building projects in this new era of low oil prices caused by factors such as an increased oil supply from non-OPEC countries and reduced geopolitical uncertainties.   At the symposium, Michael Wang, Director of Research for IHS Herold stressed that the recent sudden drop in oil prices had affected investment strategies as well as mergers and acquisitions between global oil companies and Asian national oil companies, and South Korean companies should respond aggressively to the changes.   During the opening ceremony, Ali Khalifa Al Shamsi, Strategy and Coordination Director at ADNOC, was honored for his contribution to energy cooperation between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

South Korea and Kuwait Hold Joint Committee on Energy Cooperation

November 25, 2014 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that South Korea and Kuwait held their third joint committee meeting on energy cooperation in Seoul yesterday. Lee Sang-jin, Deputy Director General for Trade Cooperation at MOTIE led the South Korean delegation, while Nawal Al-Fuzaia, Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Oil led the Kuwaiti delegation for the meeting, the ministry said in a statement. Kuwait is South Korea’s second-largest supplier of crude oil and its third-largest exporter of LPG, while South Korea is the largest export destination for Kuwait. At the meeting, the two sides agreed to cooperate closely in oil development and research in order to secure a stable supply of energy, which is essential for the sustainable economic growth of the two countries. South Korea asked Kuwait to support the participation of South Korean companies in a new refinery project (worth US$14 billion, up for bid in January 2015) led by Kuwait National Petroleum Company. Assistant Undersecretary Nawal Al-Fuzaia mentioned that South Korea’s excellent plant technology had contributed to building the energy infrastructure in Kuwait, and stressed the importance of energy cooperation between the two countries. For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

South Korea and Turkey Hold Energy Cooperation Forum

November 25, 2014 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that South Korea and Turkey held an energy forum in Ankara, Turkey today to promote energy cooperation between the two countries. The South Korean delegation included representatives of public energy agencies such as Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), Korea South East Power (KOSEP) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and private organizations such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. The forum follows up on the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and Turkey, which entered into effect in May 2013, and the agreement on the service and investment sectors that was initiated in September 2014. At the forum, the representatives not only discussed energy such as thermal power generation but also covered other related areas such as plant construction among the many areas of cooperation under the bilateral FTA. In his remarks, Kim Chang-gyu, Deputy Director General for Trade Policy at MOTIE, stressed that Turkey is an attractive investment destination, with abundant energy cooperation opportunities for South Korea. After their visit to Turkey, the South Korean delegation visited Bulgaria, and the representatives attended a business cooperation forum between South Korea and Bulgaria to discuss bilateral industrial and energy cooperation. For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

Gas pipelines older than 10 years are subject to mandatory inspection

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 24 that it's implementing the Integrity Management Program for Gas Distribution Pipeline due to the reasons that 42.1 percent of the gas pipelines are in the urban areas, and 76.4 percent of them are prone to accident since they're more than 10 years old.     According to the program, gas suppliers will be required to inspect the high pressure pipelines in urban areas that are older than 10 years, and government agencies will check and evaluate the inspection.     Liquefied petroleum gas tanks will also be subject to history management system starting from 2016. It will be done by attaching an RFID to the LP gas tanks to manage the entire manufacturing, sales and inspection processes, and provide information to consumers.     MOTIE expects that implementing this system can reduce LP gas-related accidents by 75.6 percent, and save 72 billion won ($ 63 million) on safety costs.     In addition to this, rubber hoses in LP gas facilities will be replaced with metal pipes, and more timer corks will be supplied to automatically cut off the gas after a set period of time.     * Short version date2014-12-24

Korean students to work as interns at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 23 that starting from January next year, Korean students will work as interns at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) for eight weeks.     During this period, they'll learn the operation of nuclear power plants by working with the ENEC staff of various nationalities.     At the same time, ENEC will start hiring Korean college graduates.     In return, 30 college students in the UAE will work as interns at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., LTD (KHNP) and other nuclear power-related agencies in Korea.     * Short version date2014-12-23

Korean national gas services see improved scores in assessments

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 22 that after conducting an assessment of services provided by 33 city gas companies throughout the country, it has found that the number of "Excellent" companies has increased from 1 to 7 last year, and the number of "Unsatisfactory" companies has decreased from 10 to 4.     Their average score has also increased from 74.7 to 82.6.     Some of the exemplary cases include one of the gas companies' development and distribution of mobile apps for self-inspection and gas bills for the convenience of gas users, while another company reduced the time of response to complaints by having its employees manage the complaints on a real-time basis.     MOTIE encourages competition between companies and improvement of services by showing the assessment results every year.     * Short version date2014-12-22

MOTIE Will Create Six New Energy Businesses and Over 10,000 Jobs by 2017

The six new energy businesses are as follows: ● Demand Response business: Implement energy saving systems for businesses in their buildings and plants, collecting unused power for profitable sale in the energy market.  ● Integrated energy management service business: Build ESS, EMS and LED systems combining finance, insurance and energy management technology, and provide maintenance services.  ● Independent micro-grid business: On islands with a high unit price for power generation, replace diesel generators with a hybrid micro-grid combining new and renewable energy with ESS. ● PV rental business: Rent PV systems such as water purifiers to households, generating profit through energy savings. ● Electric vehicle servicing and charging business: Install systems and provide charging for electric car service providers including electric taxi service providers. ● Business using waste heat from thermal power plants: Make use of the massive waste heat from thermal power plants on adjacent farms. date2014-07-18