President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with nuclear power industry officials during a meeting at Doosan Enerbility in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, June 22. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

Korea should embrace the recent decision by the European Commission (EC) recognizing nuclear and natural gas as green energy sources in its taxonomy, as a step toward expediting the country's nuclear-centered energy drive, according to some market watchers, Thursday.

They say Korea should revise the K-taxonomy, the Korean version of the European Union taxonomy, a set of guidelines for economic activities that investors can label as "green" and "environmentally sustainable." The EU taxonomy was designed to meet the objectives of the European Green New Deal, including reaching the EU's energy targets by 2030 and becoming a climate-neutral continent by 2050.

The move will enable Czech Republic and Poland ― two European buyers of Korea's nuclear energy systems ― to seek more and cheaper financing, which Korean companies could capitalize on with similar guidance and regulatory assistance.

The European legislative body passed the highly contested vote on July 6 to include gas and nuclear in the taxonomy as transitional activities in a limited number of circumstances and under strict conditions. The majority vote, according to the body, was the result of "aligning with a pathway to net-zero, where they are recognized as stepping stones in the transition towards more renewables with targeted investments in both are still needed in the medium term."

Legitimate boon

"The decision will revitalize the European nuclear power industry, which in turn will be a solid long-term growth opportunity for Korea," said Lee In-ho, the former chairman of the Korean Economic Association.

He also believes some Eastern European countries will find it easier to fund their energy policy drives with the full backing of the revised EU taxonomy.

"Official recognition of the much-shunned energy sources will no longer be subject to political debates over their legitimacy, and focus will instead be on how best to solve and forestall energy crises," he said.

The remarks are in line with an earlier recommendation by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), a private think tank, on the need to renounce the energy transition policy of the previous Moon Jae-in administration. It suspend the construction of new nuclear power plants and prohibited extending the lifespans of older reactors.

A KERI report released in February said Moon's energy policy was unsustainable, lacking entirely in energy security considerations and out of perspective with collective policy goals pursued by advanced global peers.

"The U.S. and China already made it clear that their energy policies will be propped up by nuclear power generation. Korea should not buck the global move due to political reasons," the KERI report said.

According to the EC, the proposal passed on July 6 will step up the transition based on the understanding that there is a role for private investment in gas and nuclear activities in the transition. "The gas and nuclear activities selected are in line with the European Union's climate and environmental objectives and will allow us to accelerate the shift from more polluting activities such as coal generation towards a climate-neutral future, mostly based on renewable energy sources," the EC said.