[Interview] Governor Wi Seongon: "Transforming Jeju into a Climate Economy Capital... Attracting Companies and Scaling Up Industry"

"Jeju Aims to Become a Climate Economy Capital: Attracting Climate Tech and AI Firms"

Governor Highlights Lack of Hydrogen Demand... Halting Economically Unviable Hydrogen Tram

Connecting Offshore Wind Power to National Grid and Expanding Resident Profit-Sharing

Promoting Voluntary Carbon Markets and Tailored Electricity Tariff Systems

Jeonggon Wi, Governor of Jeju Province, is having a meeting with the climate, energy, and environment department press corps at the "2026 Green Hydrogen Global Forum" held at Jeju International Convention Center on the 15th. Jeju Provincial Office

Wi Seongon, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, announced plans to go beyond simply increasing renewable energy and green hydrogen production facilities to build an integrated energy industry ecosystem that connects corporate investment, industry cultivation, and resident benefits. His vision is to transform Jeju from a renewable energy demonstration region into a "climate economy capital" that attracts related businesses and talent while allowing local residents to share in the profits generated from these businesses.

On the 15th, during the "2026 Green Hydrogen Global Forum" held at the Jeju International Convention Center (ICC Jeju), Governor Wi met with reporters from the Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment. He stated, "Most of the existing policies of the previous administration will be continued, but I intend to change the direction of a few," adding, "We will attract companies seeking to validate climate technology and artificial intelligence, and create a new energy industry in Jeju."

For green hydrogen, the focus is shifting from quantitative expansion to determining how the produced energy will be used and to which industries it will be linked. Governor Wi pointed out, "Although many hydrogen demonstration and production facilities have been established in Jeju, in reality there is a lack of locations to consume the hydrogen produced," diagnosing that comprehensive management of the hydrogen sector is necessary.

Jeju's green hydrogen production volume has fallen short of initial targets. According to Jeju Province, last year's green hydrogen output reached just 71 tons, merely 0.1% of the annual production target of 60,000 tons for 2035. The policy focus on expanding production facilities has revealed its limits amid insufficient demand. In 2025, Jeju introduced a total of 181 hydrogen vehicles, including 22 buses, 1 garbage truck, and 158 passenger cars.

Projects found to lack economic feasibility are slated for closure, with hydrogen trams being a prime example. Governor Wi explained, "It is not realistic to run trams with green hydrogen when hydrogen prices have not yet fallen to a level where industrialization is possible." He added, "The hydrogen tram project has been halted and we have switched to electric trams, but we are also considering suspending the tram project altogether."

Jeonggon Wi, Governor of Jeju Province, is holding a meeting with the press corps of the Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment at the Jeju International Convention Center on the 15th during the '2026 Green Hydrogen Global Forum.' Jeju Provincial Office

The province announced plans to use surplus renewable energy to lower green hydrogen production costs. Governor Wi noted, "Green hydrogen production faces multiple challenges that must be resolved, and instead of always producing green hydrogen, we should focus on generating it using surplus electricity." He continued, "We need to increase economic efficiency by converting electricity that would otherwise be wasted during periods of excess renewable energy into hydrogen through a demand response (DR) system."

Policy changes are also anticipated in the renewable energy sector. Instead of limiting consumption of electricity produced in Jeju to the island itself, Governor Wi emphasized the need to connect offshore wind power to the national grid.

He highlighted, "Jeju has favorable conditions for offshore wind with strong and sustained winds," stressing, "Connecting to the national grid will enable distribution of electricity produced in Jeju to other regions as well."

In the long term, he suggested the idea of using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission to send wind power produced in Jeju and the southwestern sea to the Seoul metropolitan area. Governor Wi explained, "As coal-fired generation decreases and heating and other thermal energy sources become electrified, electricity demand in the capital region will increase significantly." He added, "We must consider sending offshore wind power generated in Jeju and the southwest sea to the capital region."

However, building large-scale transmission networks requires a massive financial investment. Governor Wi estimated the HVDC connection between Jeju, the southwest sea, and the metropolitan area at roughly 18 trillion won, emphasizing, however, that national-level consideration is necessary given future technological advances and rising electricity demand.

Benefit-sharing with local residents from renewable energy projects will also be strengthened. Whereas profits were previously channeled through public funds for community projects, the province plans to expand models where residents participate directly in power generation projects via funds or cooperatives and receive dividends.

Governor Wi used the Hallim Offshore Wind Power project as an example. In this project, local residents formed a cooperative to participate and allocated a portion of profits to community funds and resident welfare. Governor Wi added, "We will develop structures that enable business area residents, fishers, and ordinary residents to share in the profits and allow vulnerable groups to participate as well."

The approach to output control will also shift from focusing on expanding generation facilities to promoting "flexibility resources" that change the timing of electricity storage and consumption. This includes storing electricity in energy storage systems (ESS) during periods of abundant renewable energy generation and increasing power consumption from electric vehicles, heat pumps, and green hydrogen production facilities. The use of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, where electricity from EV batteries is supplied to the grid, will also be expanded.

To facilitate these initiatives, Jeju Province will pursue a reform of the electricity tariff system. Governor Wi pointed out, "The current tariff system is centered on Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and does not offer sufficient incentives to influence behavior among heat pump or V2G users. With only a 10 to 20 won difference per kWh, it's difficult to motivate users to connect their expensive vehicles and chargers to participate in power trading."

He continued, "We need to make meaningful price differences, such as significantly lowering rates for electricity use during times of abundant renewable energy production," adding, "We intend to study and propose separate tariff schemes for heat pumps and distributed energy to the government."

The opening ceremony of the '2026 Green Hydrogen Global Forum' is taking place on the 15th at the Jeju International Convention Center. Jeju Provincial Government

In climate policy, the focus is on promoting the voluntary carbon market. Given Jeju's limited industrial presence, it is difficult to create new markets solely with the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme. The plan is to enable residents to convert climate actions—such as energy conservation or use of eco-friendly transportation—into carbon credits that can be traded.

Governor Wi explained, "The voluntary carbon market is still in its early stages domestically, but holds great growth potential globally." He continued, "We will institutionalize systems allowing residents to convert and trade their climate-positive actions as credits." Jeju Province is discussing detailed plans with the Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment and intends to announce related measures soon.

As for attracting companies, Governor Wi named climate technology firms equipped with frequency stabilization and energy management technologies for power grids as prime candidates. This is because even when solar, offshore wind, and batteries are interconnected, stable grid management requires real-time control of supply and demand. Jeju Province plans to create additional industrial parks so that related companies can test their technologies and commercialize them.

Governor Wi stated, "Electric vehicles account for approximately 13% of all vehicles in Jeju, and our share of renewable energy generation is expected to exceed 30% this year," adding, "Jeju is a place where we are piloting solutions to the energy challenges that South Korea will face in a decade."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.