Lee, IEA chief map Korea’s energy strategy amid Middle East crisis

Korean President Lee Jae Myung pledged to strengthen the resilience of energy supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region in partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA) during talks with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in Seoul on Thursday.

“This is a critical juncture for Korea, and there is likely a heightened sense of energy crisis worldwide,” Lee said at their talks at the Blue House in central Seoul. “Korea will spare no effort in international cooperation, aligning with the IEA’s strategic direction.”

The latest meeting came after Lee proposed expanding cooperation with the IEA on the margins of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in France in June. The meeting was an occasion to further discuss their responses to the global energy crisis, especially following the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil chokepoint, in the wake of the Iran war.

“We are in the process of a major overhaul of our energy system, shifting toward renewable energy,” Lee said. “However, the recent energy crisis triggered by the situation in the Middle East appears to be posing a significant obstacle to this energy transition.”

“The world is facing a major energy crisis, and likely with major consequences for the economies in the world,” Birol said at the beginning of the meeting, noting that his talks with many government and business leaders showed they want to adjust to the current crisis and its consequences. However, he also acknowledged the need for new strategies.

“Because countries do not want to face such major problems again, they want to secure energy at home, and electrification is emerging as a major new policy in many countries,” Birol said, referring to the process of replacing fossil fuels with electric power.

He added that the Korean government is ahead of the game for “putting electrification at the center of your energy policy for the next years to come.”

Birol commended Korea for establishing an exemplary strategic direction to minimize the domestic impact of Middle East conflicts through groundbreaking measures spanning fiscal policy, transportation and logistics, the Blue House said in a statement. He noted that Korea places electrification at the core of its energy policy, possesses the necessary supply chains, including batteries, heavy electrical equipment and power grids, to support that strategy and actively assists developing nations in Asia with their electrification efforts.

He stressed that reaching the electrification target will benefit Korea's sovereignty and economy and help reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

“I am going to tell this to the entire world, what Korea has in mind, because two and a half years ago I said the world is entering the age of electricity, and Korea is a very good example for that,” Birol said.

Lee asked Birol about his stance on nuclear energy, noting that even as the world shifts toward electrification powered by renewable sources like solar and wind, the Middle East conflict has caused some nations to revert to fossil fuel reliance and increase their dependence on nuclear power, Blue House spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.

Birol replied that countries such as France, Sweden, Britain and the Netherlands are expanding nuclear power capacity alongside maintaining existing plants. He added that while renewable energy would solidify its position as the primary power source, the supplementary use of nuclear energy could help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Birol noted that Korea is well-positioned to lead the electrification of the automotive industry, Kang said. He assessed that Korea, with its robust manufacturing base for EVs and batteries, could spearhead such a transition as EV prices fall.

Birol, a figure at the forefront of efforts to overcome the global energy crisis, led a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of oil reserves by IEA member states in response to the conflict in the Middle East.

During the talks, Birol emphasized plans to propose a goal at the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference, or COP31, to be held in Turkey in November, of raising the share of electricity in energy consumption from the current 23 percent to 35 percent by 2035, noting that if many nations join this initiative, it would drive changes in global financial markets.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]