The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea has decided to suspend operations at 8 to 15 coal-fired power plants over a 3-month period, from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020, in order to cut fine dust emissions and limit air pollution. The remaining coal-fired power plants will have to operate at up to 80% of their capacity over this period, depending on power demand.
There are more than 60 coal-fired power plants in South Korea, which cover over 40% of the country's power generation (44% in 2018). However, South Korea is seeking to reduce their share, mainly on air pollution concerns. In November 2019, it announced plans to decommission 6 older coal-fired power units with a total capacity of 2.6 GW by 2021, a year before than previously planned. Coal-fired plants to be stopped are Samcheonpo units 1&2 (2x560 MW, operated by KOSEP), Boryeong units 1&2 (2x500 MW, operated by Komipo) as well as Honam units 1&2 (2x250 MW, operated by EWP). The current administration had also completely suspended the construction of coal-fired power plants in 2017.