South Korea Energy Information

South Korea Energy Research

- South Korea's Energy & Climate Policy Framework: South Korea merged climate, energy, and environment policies under a single ministry in 2025, aiming for a 53-61% GHG cut by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

- South Korea's Energy Companies: KEPCO dominates South Korea’s electricity (60% capacity), Kogas leads gas supply (91% LNG capacity), and SK Group dominates oil refining.

- South Korea's Energy Supply & Demand: Energy supply & demand summary: Total energy consumption declining since 2021; fossil fuels still dominate at 79% of primary mix.

- South Korea's Energy Use & Price by Sector: Final energy consumption declined 1.7% annually since 2021, with stable electricity/gas prices post-2023. Petroleum dominates (50%), while industry, transport, and buildings account for 27%, 19%, and 26% respectively.

- South Korea's Issues & Prospects: South Korea aims to phase out coal by 2040, boost renewables to 100GW by 2030, and expand nuclear/LNG capacity under its 11^th BPLE plan.

South Korea Total Energy Production & Consumption

Total energy consumption has decreased by 1%/year since 2021 to 286 Mtoe in 2025. It was 4% lower than its 2018 peak in 2025.It grew before by 2%/year on average over 2010-2018. Per capita consumption was 5.5 toe/cap in 2025, which is more than three times the Asian average.

Graph: Primary Consumption Trends by Energy Source

Source: South Korea energy report

Interactive Chart South Korea Total Energy Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

South Korea Oil Production & Consumption

Korea depends on imports to meet its crude oil demand, mostly from the Middle East. Crude oil and NGL imports decreased by 0.5% in 2025 to 138 Mt. It corresponds to the average imports level since 2021.

Crude oil and NGL consumption decreased by 1.6% in 2025 to 166 Mt, halting the post-COVID upward trend in oil consumption (+3%/year between 2021 and 2024).

Graph: Crude Oil Production & Consumption

Source: South Korea energy report

Interactive Chart South Korea Crude Oil Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Interactive Chart South Korea Refined Oil Products Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

South Korea Natural Gas Production & Consumption

Gas production is negligible. The offshore gas field of Dong-Hae 1 entered into servicein 2004, producing around 0.15 bcm/year, i.e. less than 1% of total gas consumption.

The country started to import LNG in 1986. The volumes of LNG imports increased by 4.5%/year between 2019 and 2022 and remained roughly stable since then (67 bcm in 2025). South Korea is the world's third largest LNG importer, after China and Japan.

In 2024, the main suppliers of LNG were Australia (24%), Qatar (19%), Malaysia (14%), the United States (12%), and Oman (10%).

Source: South Korea energy report

Interactive Chart South Korea Gas Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

South Korea Coal and Lignite Production & Consumption

The country imports most of its coal, as production is negligible (0.4 Mt in 2025). Coal imports are generally decreasing since 2019 (-4%/year) and reached 112 Mt in 2025.

Coal consumption decreased by 0.5% in 2025 to 111 Mt, following a 5%/year fall since its peak in 2018. Previously, it increased by around 2%/year over 2010-2018.

Power plants accounted for 70% of coal consumption in 2025, coal transformation for 19% and industry for 11%.

Graph: Coal Production & Consumption

Source: South Korea energy report

Interactive Chart South Korea Coal and Lignite Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

South Korea Renewable in % Electricity Production

KEA, Korea Energy Agency, supports and promotes new and renewable energies.

The 11th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Demand and Supply (BPLE, 2025) set a renewable target of 22% of the power mix in 2030 and 33% in 2038, up from 10% in 2025. MCEE plans to add 40 GW of renewables by 2030, generating 134 TWh in 2030 (232 TWhin 2038).

Source: South Korea energy report

Interactive Chart South Korea Share of Renewables in Electricity Production (incl hydro)

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

South Korea GHG emissions and CO₂ emissions

In its last NDC (December 2025), the country plans to reduce its GHG emissions by 53% to 61% by 2035 relative to 2018, i.e. between 289 and 349 MtCO2 in 2035. In the previous NDC, the objective was a 40% reduction in 2030 (excl. LULUCF). In 2020, the country also committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Source: South Korea energy report

Interactive Chart South Korea CO₂ emissions

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data