EIRP U.S.-Korea Energy Series – Working Paper No. 2 (Korean Solar)

In this working paper in EIRP’s U.S.-Korea Energy Series, Jae Ho Yun and Chinho Park, professors at the Korean Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), assess the challenges and opportunities facing South Korea’s solar photovoltaic (PV) industry.

In “South Korea’s Solar Power Industry: Status and Prospects,” Yun and Park note that Korea’s domestic solar PV industry has deteriorated, due in part to challenges posed by China’s market dominance in solar PV supply chains. While seeing U.S. and European policies to encourage solar deployment, such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act as providing important opportunities for South Korean firms, they express concern that extensive South Korean manufacturing in the United States and Europe could “hollow out” the country’s domestic supply chain as small and medium enterprises lose their principal customers.

Yun and Park recommend that South Korea adopt a new strategy to strengthen the country’s solar PV supply chains through “friend-shoring” while advising South Korea’s government to avoid reinforcing U.S. supply chains at South Korea’s expense.

Read the report here.

“South Korea’s Solar Power Industry: Status and Prospects” is the second in a series of EIRP working papers on U.S.-Korea Clean Energy. You can read a counterpart on the U.S. solar industry here. Subscribe here to stay up-to-date on the latest EIRP news and analysis.