Presidential Office: "Southwest Region Has Sufficient Renewable Energy, Capacity Can Be Expanded"

▲ Kim Woo-chang, Presidential Secretary for AI Policy, reports on the progress and future plans for the Global AI Hub at the Global AI Hub Attraction Committee meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 24.

Kim Woo-chang, Presidential Secretary for National AI Policy, refuted concerns today (July 3) that the government's recently announced semiconductor cluster investment project in the Honam region might face insufficient power supply, stating, "The southwest region already has plenty of renewable energy, and it can be further expanded."

Appearing on KBS Radio's "Jeon-gyeok Sisa" today, Secretary Kim said, "Domestically, major power generation hubs include nuclear power plants in the southwest or the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) region, as well as the Gangwon region. The central region (including the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong) must rely on power transmitted through the grid." He added, "Building production facilities near power sources is the only choice left for us."

This is interpreted to mean that the location of the Honam semiconductor cluster was a rational choice, given the necessity of expanding facilities near power generation sites.

Regarding questions raised by some about whether renewable energy alone would be sufficient for power supply, Secretary Kim replied, "South Korea's power grid is fully interconnected," noting that the country does not rely on a single power source.

Furthermore, he emphasized, "While South Korea's renewable energy ratio is 9 percent, the OECD average is over 30 percent. Moreover, due to the overall global trade trend, we will not be able to export if we do not increase our renewable energy ratio."

He also addressed the criticism that "expanding renewable energy conflicts with the government's stance on phasing out nuclear power," stating, "The claim of a 'nuclear phase-out stance' seems to be a misunderstanding of the current administration's policies. Didn't we just announce plans to build nuclear power plants and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) a while ago?" He added, "We have decided to build new nuclear power plants. Decarbonization does not mean a nuclear phase-out."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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