President Lee Jae Myung on Monday called for a rapid shift to renewable energy, saying Jeju is best positioned to deliver the fastest real-world results as South Korea faces a worsening energy crunch amid the war in the Middle East.
Lee reiterated his calls while hosting his 12th and final regional town hall on Monday at the Halla Convention Center of Halla University on Jeju Island, the closing event in a flagship series aimed at advancing his vision for balanced national development rooted in region-specific growth.
“The Republic of Korea as a whole must move very quickly toward renewable energy,” Lee said, referring to South Korea by its official name. “Our future will be at serious risk if we continue to rely on fossil fuels.”
South Korea is making all-out efforts to mitigate energy supply disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East war, including easing seasonal curbs on coal-fired power generation, which are typically imposed from December through March to reduce fine dust pollution.
“The world is in turmoil over the energy crisis. To be honest, the situation is so serious that it has even kept me up at night. The immediate problem is grave enough, but the outlook ahead seems even more unstable — the situation is worse than expected,” Lee said.
