Title: Energy Transition under Geopolitical Pressure: Comparing Korea and Taiwan’s Search for Energy Security

Time: April 15 (Wed), 14:00-15:00

Venue: TSE Common Area

Speaker: Sun Ryung Park (TSE Visiting Research Fellow)

Lecture Abstract:

Energy transition is no longer only about decarbonization; it is increasingly shaped by concerns over energy security, industrial competitiveness, and geopolitical risk. This talk examines how South Korea and Taiwan—two advanced, energy-import-dependent economies in East Asia—are navigating these competing pressures, and why their policy responses are diverging. South Korea has moved more decisively to prioritize energy security within its energy transition. Recent policy shifts emphasize supply stability, diversification, and a more pragmatic stance toward nuclear energy, supported by relatively centralized policy coordination. Taiwan, by contrast, has followed a more gradual and politically mediated pathway. While energy security concerns have intensified, policy choices remain shaped by domestic political constraints, including public opposition to nuclear energy and broader societal engagement in energy debates. As a result, Taiwan’s transition reflects an ongoing balancing of decarbonization, industrial needs, public legitimacy, and supply reliability. The comparison highlights that energy transition is fundamentally a political process. Similar external pressures do not produce uniform outcomes; instead, policy trajectories depend on how governments manage domestic constraints and trade-offs. Understanding these differences is critical for designing feasible and coherent energy strategies under conditions of geopolitical uncertainty.