Korea losing race to secure energy resource reserves

“With the size of the investments Korea has made so far, securing overseas energy resources is almost a ‘mission impossible’,” said Chung Woo-jin, a senior manager at the Korea Energy Economic Institute. “Korea’s plan to achieve even 10-percent energy self-sufficiency by 2010 is an empty dream.” As of late last year, Korea was about 4 percent self-sufficient in energy, defined as domestic production or control of foreign resources to meet its energy needs, including the uranium needed for its nuclear power reactors.

..Because Korea is almost entirely dependent on imported energy, sudden increases in world prices because of demand surges or supply shortages can have huge disruptive effects here and in other energy-poor countries without sufficient stockpiles. Korea is a good example; it has already seen several crises brought on by an inability to predict how much of a cushion of reserves it needs.

JoongAng Daily