AI significantly increased power demand in South Korea, and government departments are considering building more nuclear reactors

Affected by the expansion of production at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as well as the construction of AI data centers, South Korea’s electricity demand is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The additional demand from AI alone will reach 25 to 30 GW. To address this shortage, South Korea’s Minister of Climate Energy and Environment, Kim Sung-hwan, stated that the government plans to update its long-term energy roadmap for 2040 next month, with a focus on building new nuclear reactors. If all power is supplied by nuclear energy, it would equivalent to the capacity of approximately 20 units. Currently, South Korea has 26 nuclear reactors, which meet slightly less than one-third of its electricity demand. Renewable energy accounts for 11%, while coal makes up 29%. Despite safety risks, South Korea still finds it difficult to reduce its dependence on nuclear energy at this stage; 79% of respondents support including new nuclear power plants in the roadmap.