South Korea plans to increase the contribution of nuclear power in the country’s power source mix to 30% or more by 2030 from 27.4% in 2021, the industry ministry said on Tuesday.
South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has rejected the idea of phasing out nuclear energy and made it a key pledge of his campaign to boost investment in the industry and revive its status as a key exporter of safe reactors.
The U-turn in Asia’s fourth-largest economy towards a pro-nuclear energy policy comes after Yoon won the March presidential election by the smallest margin in South Korea’s democratic history.
While boosting the role of nuclear energy, the country plans to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel imports from 81.8% in 2021 to around 60% by 2030, the ministry said.
“As the global carbon neutrality trend continues and global energy supply chain instability increases due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and other factors, the role of energy policy in achieving energy security and carbon neutrality goals is more important than ever,” it said in a statement.
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