Energy Policy Directions Toward Sustainable
 
Development in Korea

http://daesungwef.korea.com/wef/Ki-YualBang.pdf

 

President, Korea Energy Economics Institute

The ultimate goal of energy policy in Korea is to sustain economic development in harmony with
environmental preservation. In pursuit of this goal, Korea has formulated three policy directions.
The first is to strengthen energy supply security though overseas resource development, the second is
to create a society in which less energy is consumed through improved energy efficiency, and the third
is to establish a sustainable energy system through more investment in new and renewable energy
(NRE). The National Energy Committee (NEC) was created by presidential order in November 2006 to
address energy issues as part of the national agenda. Since then, energy policies for sustainable
development have gained momentum. Because NREs are expected to play a pivotal role in sustainable
development in the future, the Korean government has increased the NRE budget for implementing
stronger policy measures. In order to archive the NRE target share of 5% in total energy supply by 2011,
Korea has developed a strategy of “selection and concentration” in which limited natural resources are
concentrated in such NREs as solar PVs, wind power, and hydrogen/fuel cells. The Korea government
will continue to support development and deployment activities of NREs until Korea becomes competitive
in this field.

Profile

Dr. Ki-Yual Bang is the president of Korea Energy Economic Institute(KEEI) which was established as
a government-affiliated research institute in order to contribute to the national energy policy-making and
is a member of National Energy Committee(NEC) presided by the Korean President. He has a long
experience of research in the field of energy and resources for more than three decades and has
consistently participated in the government’s energy policy makings. He had worked as a
researcher/coordinator in Minerals and Energy Forum (MEF) under Pacific Economic Cooperation
Council (PECC) in Australia.