| Offshore Wind Promotion Details Emerge |
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| Korea’s newly-formed Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (the “MCEE”) [1] has proposed draft subordinate legislation that would clarify key details of the offshore wind power promotion legislation that was enacted earlier this year. |
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| The draft Enforcement Decree and draft Enforcement Rules (together, the “Subordinate Legislation”) to Korea’s Special Act on the Promotion of Offshore Wind Power Distribution and Industrial Development (the “OSW Promotion Act”) was announced on December 9, 2025 and is expected to take effect (together with the full OSW Promotion Act) on March 26, 2026. The MCEE is soliciting public comments on the Subordinate Legislation through January 19, 2026. |
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| The Subordinate Legislation further details certain procedures, standards and deadlines for the development of offshore wind power projects (“OSW Projects”) under the OSW Promotion Act (summarized in our newsletter dated February 27, 2025 (Link)), from designation of “exploratory areas” (as described in the OSW Promotion Act, “Exploratory Areas”) to approval of project implementation plans. |
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Summary of Key Provisions |
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| 1) Requirements for designation of Exploratory Areas and Power Generation Zones |
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| The Subordinate Legislation sets out requirements for obtaining designation as an Exploratory Area (the first step in the process of receiving government designation as a “power generation zone”, wherein new OSW Projects may be developed (as described in the OSW Promotion Act, “Power Generation Zones”)). These requirements include: |
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Minimum impact on national heritage as defined by the Framework Act on National Heritage; and, |
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Minimum impact on existing maritime activities; |
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| The Subordinate Legislation also notes that designation as a Power Generation Zone requires: |
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Consideration of impacts on national security; and |
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Consideration of the results of marine environmental surveys and environmental assessments pursuant to Article 16 of the OSW Promotion Act. |
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| 2) Developer selection criteria |
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| The Subordinate Legislation also provides that criteria for selecting OSW Project developers will include consideration of factors such as: |
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Ensuring energy security and safety; |
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Efforts to minimize impacts on the marine environment; |
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The appropriateness of project costs; and |
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Plans for decommissioning and restoration of areas to be utilized by OSW Project facilities. |
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| The Subordinate Legislation also provides the establishment of an evaluation committee to oversee the OSW Project developer selection tender process, with specific procedures and evaluation criteria to be provided in a public notice to be issued by the MCEE. |
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| 3) Public-Private Council |
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| The Subordinate Legislation calls for the establishment of a public-private consultative body (the “Public-Private Council”) to discuss matters related to the designation of Power Generation Zones, local resident participation and profit-sharing and other issues necessary to secure stakeholder acceptance of OSW Project development. The Public-Private Council will be comprised of representatives from governmental, private and public interest sectors as further detailed in the Subordinate Legislation. Public-Private Council deliberation will be required for matters such as establishing a basic design plan, and the results of such deliberations must be announced within one year of commencement (extendable by no more than six months for unavoidable circumstances). |
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| 4) Streamlined environmental review procedures |
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| The fast-track permitting procedures introduced by the OSW Promotion Act allows simplified environmental evaluation reports (“Environmental Evaluation Reports”) to replace the full environmental impact assessments and sea area utilization impact assessments within Power Generation Zones. The Subordinate Legislation further explains related procedures by: |
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Stipulating that OSW Project developers seeking to take advantage of the new procedures should submit a preliminary version of their Environmental Evaluation Report (prior to submitting the actual Environmental Evaluation Report) to the MCEE; |
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Establishing an Environmental Assessment Council to determine the evaluation items for Environmental Evaluation Reports; and |
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Clarifying the system of reviewing Environmental Evaluation Reports in consultation with Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (the “MOF”). |
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| 5) Deadline for determining necessity of feasibility studies |
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| The OSW Promotion Act allows state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions (e.g., Korea Electric Power Corporation (“KEPCO”) and KEPCO’s six wholly-owned power generation subsidiaries (the “GenCos”)) to apply to Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (the “MOEF”) for a waiver of the requirement to complete a preliminary feasibility study with respect to any OSW Project proposed for development within a Power Generation Zone. |
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| The Subordinate Legislation specifies that when state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions (such as KEPCO or the GenCos) apply to MOEF for this waiver, the MOEF should issue notice of its determination whether or not to grant such waiver within 60 days of application, and hence facilitate expedited OSW Project development by such state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions. |
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| The Subordinate Legislation provides the first significant details on the OSW Promotion Act’s high-level promise to catalyze the growth of Korea’s offshore wind power generation sector, but grasping their full implications will require close monitoring of various governmental notices and announcements over the coming months. |
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| Many of the more specific details surrounding the implementation of the OSW Promotion Act are expected to be provided by the MCEE in the form of separate public notices. These public notices will, for example, include key information such as the deadlines, selection criteria, and procedures for current OSW Project developers and their OSW Projects to be selected as an OSW Project under the OSW Promotion Act. A future MCEE public notice is also expected to detail evaluation criteria for the evaluation committee selecting OSW Project developers and the benefit-sharing plan for resident participation in OSW Projects. |
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| For further information and to submit comments on the Subordinate Legislation (by January 19, 2026), please refer to the official governmental announcement of the Subordinate Legislation (Link). |
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| [1] The MCEE was created in October 2025 by the new Lee Jae-Myung administration’s combining of the energy responsibilities of the former Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy with the former Ministry of Environment. |
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