The South Korean government has announced a ten-year strategy called the “Korean Green Transformation” (K—GX), aimed at steering the economy toward carbon neutrality while maintaining industrial competitiveness. One of its key objectives is to add 100 GW of renewable energy to the country’s grid by 2030, alongside upgrading transmission lines to deliver electricity to areas of demand.
The government intends to invest approximately $750 billion, equivalent to €665 billion, over the next ten years. Funding priority will be given to the industrial sectors with the highest emissions, including steel, petrochemicals, cement, semiconductors, displays, and refining.
Low-Emission Power Grid and Industry
South Korea’s total installed electricity capacity reached 160 GW in 2024, including 26 GW from nuclear power plants. Electricity demand reached 104 GW during a heat wave in August, highlighting the importance of expanding generation and transmission networks in parallel rather than simply adding new generation capacity.
The plan includes building high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission lines and replacing existing cables with higher-capacity ones. More than half of climate funding outside the Seoul capital region will also be allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies, which will receive no less than 70% of the funding. The government plans to issue its first green bonds in 2028, while expanding tax exemptions or incentives for locally produced components and equipment for solar, wind, and batteries.
In the steel sector, the government aims to produce 300,000 tons of green steel by using hydrogen instead of coal to reduce iron ore by 2030, and to raise production to 2.5 million tons by 2036. It also aims for domestic steel production to rely entirely on hydrogen-based reduction no later than 2050, if the plan succeeds.
Vehicles, Batteries, and Solar Power
The K—GX strategy aims for electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles to account for 70% of the new car and truck market by 2035. Proposed measures include redesigning electric-vehicle subsidies, providing incentives for vehicles made using low-emission steel, supporting drivers’ transition away from internal-combustion engines, and introducing a battery-leasing program.
South Korea wants to increase its share of the global electric-vehicle market. It currently ranks eighth, with a 3.8% share, while aiming to become the third-largest electric-vehicle supplier by 2035. In batteries, it plans to commercialize high-performance solid-state batteries by 2027 and focus on low-cost sodium-ion batteries by 2030.
The country also aims to commercialize and mass-produce highly efficient tandem solar cells by 2028, then become the world’s largest supplier of this type of cell by 2035. Hanwha Qcells will lead work on clean-power-generation materials and perovskite tandem cells, while POSCO Holdings will focus on reducing emissions from steel production. LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics are jointly participating in a project to expand the use of heat pumps and low-carbon solutions in homes.
What Is Changing in Practice?
The plan reflects South Korea’s shift from emissions-reduction targets to an industrial policy linking clean energy with competition in the steel, automotive, battery, and solar-power markets. Its success will depend on expanding the grid, providing long-term financing, and making tangible progress in hydrogen, battery, and solar-cell technologies.
Some details remain unresolved, particularly the source of the hydrogen used in steelmaking. Producing it from natural gas could limit emissions-reduction gains, while producing it through electrolysis powered by renewable energy would require a simultaneous expansion of generation and networks.