Energy

South Korea’s nuclear energy industry has for decades been facilitated through close cooperation with counterparts in the United States under what is known as a “123 Agreement”.  Today South Korea’s…

Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons has emerged to be one of the key foreign policy priorities of the Obama administration. Despite efforts among Western powers to form a united…

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to reverse President Moon’s nuclear reactor phase-out policy, claiming that it has led to increased reliance on fossil fuels and that nuclear power provides a better path to net-zero emissions. The Korean public has generally expressed support for nuclear energy. Close to 60% of respondents in a 2017 poll supported resuming…

The city of Chungju recently opened a hydrogen vehicle charging station that runs on food waste. This taps into South Korea’s elaborate food waste disposal system, which uses food scraps to feed livestock and generate biofuel. The charging station is one aspect of the country’s Hydrogen Roadmap. Launched in 2019, it sees the transition to…

What Happened: In January 2022, Indonesia announced a ban on coal exports. Indonesian coal accounts for 20% of Seoul’s total coal imports. In response, the South Korean government urged the Indonesian government to remove the ban on coal exports. Despite these actions, the South Korean government officially stated that Indonesia’s ban on coal exports would…

This is the tenth in a 10 part series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series developed in 2021. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. In recent years, South Korea has taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a pledge…

Please join KEI for a conversation with Markus Garlauskas and Axel Catellier on the factors driving South Korea’s recent military force development.

Please join KEI and KIEP for a discussion about the first 10 years of KORUS and the future of the U.S.-Korea economic relationship.

Please join KEI for a discussion with three emerging experts on how South Korea can adopt a principled middle power agenda.

Please join KEI for a discussion with Seoul National University Professor Chung Jae Ho on why the ROK-PRC relationship faces such headwinds and its implications for the ongoing U.S.-China competition.

Please join KEI for a conversation Mr. Kim Won-soo on the historical importance of two countries joining the UN, South Korea’s contribution to multilateral institutions, and the role of the UN in diplomacy with North Korea.