Editorial: Don’t politicize Korea’s power grid

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has told the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning that residents who agree to host high-voltage transmission lines could be given priority participation in solar and wind projects—with a share of the profits. The proposal would effectively use President Lee Jae-myung’s flagship “Sunlight and Wind Pension” policy as a tool to expand grid infrastructure.

It’s an attempt to fix a growing problem. Despite pouring trillions of won into energy projects, transmission bottlenecks have become severe. The Samcheok coal-fired power plant, completed earlier this year at great cost, was forced to shut down shortly after opening due to a lack of grid capacity. Winning over local residents to allow new lines is urgent—but leaning too heavily on solar and wind, which remain far less cost-efficient than nuclear or other sources, risks repeating past mistakes. We’ve already seen what ideologically driven energy policy can do to a country.

At the June 20 opening of a new AI data center in Ulsan, where President Lee was in attendance, it became clear: we’ve entered an era where electricity is national competitiveness. The facility—built with 7 trillion won in investment from Amazon and SK—is being hailed as the “brain and highway” of artificial intelligence. And why did Ulsan land it? Because of the reliable power infrastructure nearby, including combined-cycle power plants. In the age of AI and electric vehicles, there is no growth without electricity. In fact, without stable and abundant electricity, a nation’s very survival is at stake.

That’s why Europe—the former poster child of anti-nuclear, pro-renewable energy—is now reversing course. Countries are scrapping nuclear phaseouts and approving new reactors. Even the United States, which had all but abandoned nuclear since the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, plans to quadruple its nuclear output by 2050.

And yet here we are, keeping our affordable nuclear plants idle while paying top dollar for renewable energy. Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), now saddled with 205 trillion won in debt and paying 13 billion won in daily interest, is plugging its deficit by raising industrial electricity rates—putting even more pressure on businesses. How are we supposed to build an AI future on this foundation? In energy-intensive industries like steel and petrochemicals, executives now say power prices are as threatening as Chinese competition or Trump-era tariffs.

The new administration has yet to lay out a clear energy blueprint. But one thing is certain: AI supremacy isn’t possible without electricity. So the question must be asked—can we really power an AI nation with renewables alone?