For many years, the Republic of Korea — which imports over 90% of its energy — has lagged behind other advanced economies in renewable energy deployment. Despite being one of the world’s top ten economies and a global leader in shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing, the Republic of Korea remains heavily dependent on imported energy.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Korea relies on imports for the vast majority of its oil, natural gas and coal consumption, with approximately 98% of its fossil fuel demand supplied overseas. The Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) further estimates that the country’s energy import dependency reached 94.8% in 2021.
Renewable energy deployment also remains relatively limited compared to other advanced economies. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Energy Policy Review of Korea 2025, the share of renewable electricity generation in Korea is among the lowest across IEA member countries. Climate Action Tracker similarly assesses that the Republic of Korea remains among the lowest-performing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20 countries in terms of renewable energy generation share.
The U.S. war on Iran and subsequent energy price shocks have reinforced the importance of building a more resilient and self-reliant energy system powered by domestic renewable energy.
Enter the Republic of Korea’s renewable energy master plan
In May 2026, RoK’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment unveiled renewable energy master plan represents one of the country’s most significant steps toward a cleaner energy future in decades. Beyond the headline goals — 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030 and renewables accounting for more than 35% of power generation by 2035 — the plan reflects something even more important: a growing understanding that energy security, industrial competitiveness and climate action are deeply connected.
Pacific Environment has been working closely with local governments, ports and civil society partners in the Republic of Korea to advance offshore wind and maritime decarbonization. This announcement is an important milestone in the Korean government’s leadership on the energy transition. At the same time, if Korea is to fully realize its vision of a renewable energy-based transition, it must also address the practical challenges facing the maritime sector — challenges that are central to achieving the country’s maritime decarbonization goals.
Clearing the path for offshore wind
The government’s new roadmap places offshore wind at the heart of South Korea’s energy transition, alongside expanded solar deployment in urban and rural areas. Building renewable energy in the Republic of Korea has never been simple: the country is mountainous and densely populated with limited land for large-scale projects. Here’s how the plan addresses these issues:
- Sets measures to accelerate large-scale offshore wind development through long-term auction systems.
- Plans siting mechanisms.
- Invests in grid infrastructure.
- Leverages next-generation turbine technology including floating offshore wind testbeds.
These investments are not only important for the power sector — they could also help reshape the Republic of Korea’s ports and industrial regions.
Clean electricity generated from offshore wind has the potential to redefine the role of Republic of Korea’s ports. In the years ahead, ports can evolve beyond their traditional function as logistics hubs to become major energy hubs that consume, utilize, and support the integration of renewable energy. As port operations become increasingly electrified and electricity demand grows from logistics facilities, industrial complexes, data centers, energy storage systems (ESS), and eventually the production of green hydrogen and other zero-emission fuels, ports can serve as stable and strategic demand centers for renewable energy.
By providing large-scale and consistent electricity demand, ports can help absorb growing renewable energy generation, improve grid utilization, and support the broader expansion of offshore wind and other renewable energy resources across Republic of Korea.
Major ports and industrial hubs such as Busan, Ulsan, Yeosu-Gwangyang and Mokpo are exposed to those changes. In other words, these cities are well-positioned to benefit from the convergence of offshore wind, green shipping and industrial decarbonization.
Empowering local governments and communities
Equally encouraging is the plan’s recognition of the role of local governments and community participation.
Pacific Environment’s work has consistently shown that the energy transition cannot succeed without local support and fair economic opportunities for communities. The government’s proposals to expand resident participation models and strengthen the role of municipalities are positive signs that the Republic of Korea is beginning to move beyond a highly centralized energy system toward a more inclusive and locally connected approach.
Pacific Environment charts the path forward
As the Republic of Korea moves deeper into the renewable energy era, ports can play an even larger role. According to Pacific Environment’s recent report, ports should act as renewable energy hubs, consuming, connecting and storing clean electricity from offshore wind, serving as a buffer for the grid.
Given that many of the country’s offshore wind resources are concentrated along the southwestern coast, grid congestion and limited transmission capacity continue to delay projects and renewable energy integration. Therefore, strategic investments in port-based substations, transmission corridors connecting ports and low-carbon energy storage systems (ESS) in the southwestern region should be prioritized, alongside the development of port microgrids that integrate offshore wind generation with flexible electricity demand.
In addition, the Republic of Korea will likely need pragmatic regulatory and legislative reforms to accelerate offshore wind deployment at the scale envisioned in the new master plan.
One that accelerates offshore wind deployment while maintaining the long-term competitiveness of Republic of Korea’s maritime and shipbuilding industries. For example, while preserving the underlying objectives of cabotage regulations, policymakers could consider greater flexibility under specific conditions to facilitate collaboration with experienced international offshore wind operators through joint ventures, technology partnerships, or the temporary use of specialized vessels where appropriate.
Pacific Environment recommends that the Republic of Korea government adopt a pragmatic and flexible approach to addressing potential vessel capacity constraints in the offshore wind sector.
Such measures would not replace or undermine domestic industries. Rather, they could serve as a bridge strategy to alleviate potential bottlenecks while Republic of Korea’s shipbuilding and maritime sectors continue to expand their capacity to provide next-generation wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) and other specialized offshore wind support vessels. At the same time, leveraging international expertise and operational experience could help reduce project risks, accelerate deployment timelines, and strengthen the capabilities and competitiveness of Republic of Korea’s domestic offshore wind supply chain.
Given the urgency of expanding renewable energy and reducing emissions, greater flexibility in port and offshore wind regulations may be essential to ensure that projects move forward quickly enough to meet the country’s climate, energy security and industrial competitiveness goals.
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