Korea must not stall green shift or ‘China will seize the market': Climate minister

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Korea must not stall green shift or ‘China will seize the market': Climate minister

Published: 21 Apr. 2026, 11:00 Updated: 21 Apr. 2026, 16:45

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-whan speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Climate Week and Korea's Green Transformation Week in Yeosu, South Jeolla, on April 20. [MINISTRY OF CLIMATE, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT]

YEOSU, South Jeolla — Though wars and geopolitical upheavals are stalling the “green transition,” Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-whan warns that if Korea hesitates to make the shift, “China will seize the market.”

“If some countries step back and we convince ourselves we can afford to slow down, China will capture all the green industries — that is the reality,” Kim said during a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Climate Week and Korea’s Green Transformation Week in Yeosu, South Jeolla, on Monday.

“China, backed by formidable capital, has already secured a commanding grip on global markets, which is plainly visible,” he added. “It is imperative that Korea move quickly to strengthen its industrial competitiveness, as this will have a critical impact on the nation’s jobs outlook in the long run.”

Kim also vowed to rebuild Korea’s reputation in the solar sector, now largely dominated by Chinese manufacturers. Earlier in the year, the minister signaled plans to mandate the use of domestically produced solar modules and inverters in publicly funded projects.

The remarks come as Chinese-made inverters have drawn mounting scrutiny over security risks after undisclosed communication devices were reportedly found embedded in some Chinese inverters in the United States last year. In Europe, a widespread blackout across Spain and Portugal also prompted speculation about the potential for cyberattacks linked to solar infrastructure.

A visitor tries a game themed on renewable energy during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Climate Week and Korea’s Green Transformation Week in Yeosu, South Jeolla, on April 20. [YONHAP]

“The global solar market is more than 90 percent dominated by China. If Korea, too, were to falter [in its competitiveness], the market would effectively become a monopoly,” Kim said. “Despite the difficulties, this is an existential moment, during which we must rebuild our solar industry.”

“In Korea’s subsidy-backed solar market, we intend to use domestically produced modules, including their paired inverters,” he continued. “This is not about mandating all inverters across the board but ensuring that, where public funds are involved, Korean-made products are used.”

Solar power has been Kim’s primary focus, while the current Lee Jae Myung administration has mainly advocated for expanding renewable energy. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has set a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2018 levels by 2030 — roughly 290 million tons — alongside a pledge to deploy 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in the power sector.

“All energy, at its source, comes from the sun,” Kim said. “Though the forms can be different — such as through space as Elon Musk has envisioned or captured through Earth directly as solar power, indirectly as wind or as stored potential energy — turning away from that fundamental source in favor of alternatives is neither rational nor sustainable.”

Kim also argued that the only viable path through the climate crisis is for a single country to set the standard and lead by example — a role that he cast as Korea’s historic charge.

“The atmospheric carbon dioxide stood at about 280 parts per million before Korea’s industrial revolution, but it surpassed 430 parts per million last year. With concentrations rising by roughly 3 parts per million each year, we are on track to exceed 450 parts per million in the early 2030s, placing the planet in peril of breaching the 2-degree threshold,” he said, referring to efforts to limit climate change to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) as agreed upon in the Paris Climate Agreement.

“This is a global crisis, yet the response has been left to the discretion of individual nations, which has slowed progress,” he added. “What is required is for one country to decisively reconfigure its industrial system — economically, socially and culturally — into a model of climate resilience and mitigation, then lead the way. I believe that Korea carries that historic responsibility.”

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]