S. Korea to draw long-term energy plan by this year

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will draw out a long-term energy plan that aims to reduce its high dependence on nuclear and coal power and expands the portion of renewable sources in the next 22 years, the energy ministry said Monday.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said a working group composed of government and industry officials, as well as civilian experts, held its first meeting to discuss the third basic energy plan for the years 2019-2040.

The government draws the long-term energy policy every five years based on recommendations from the working group.

The basic energy plan will be expansion of the energy transformation roadmap announced last year, which aims to increase the portion of renewable energy from the current 7 percent to 20 percent by 2030 and steadily phase out aged nuclear reactors.

President Moon Jae-in has vowed to move away from nuclear power to keep pace with the changing energy environment and growing safety concerns following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, and a series of strong earthquakes that hit the nation's southeastern region over the past two years.

Currently, South Korea operates 24 nuclear reactors that generate about 30 percent of its electricity. Under the nuclear phase-out plan, the nation's 10 oldest reactors will be retired by 2030 as their operational lifecycles expire one by one.

The ministry said it will confirm the latest plan by the end of this year.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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