Natural resources and energy
South Korea has no known oil deposits of
greater value and is also poor on other minerals. Coal
is the country's foremost mineral resource. The breaking
of tungsten used to have some economic significance.
There are minor occurrences of lead, zinc, copper,
kaolin and feldspar.
Oil imports are significant. In order to reduce the
import of raw materials and fuel to the industry, South
Korea has started joint ventures with foreign companies
to extract minerals in resource-rich countries such as
Australia, Canada and Indonesia.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Major exports by South Korea with a full list of the top products exported by the country. Includes trade value in U.S. dollars and the percentage for each product category.
South Korea has also invested heavily in nuclear
power to reduce oil dependency. Nuclear power
contributes about a third of the electricity consumed in
the country.
The rest of the energy is produced using oil, coal
and a small amount of hydropower. South Korea is one of
the world's largest importers of liquefied natural gas.
South Korea has long hoped for a pipeline to be built
that can deliver Russian gas from Siberia via North
Korea.
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Abbreviationfinder: A popular acronym site in the world covering abbreviation for each country. For example, KR stands for South Korea.
- SONGAAH:
Find lyrics of national anthem and all songs related to the country of South
Korea.
FACTS - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Energy use per person
5,456 kilograms of oil equivalent (2015)
Electricity consumption per person
10564 kWh, kWh (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions in total
587 156 thousand tons (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions per inhabitant
11.6 tonnes (2014)
The share of energy from renewable sources
2.7 percent (2015)
2018
November
Tangerines against mushrooms
November 12
North and South Korea exchange food gifts with each
other, as evidence of the new, warmer relations between
the states. In September, North Korea's Kim Jong-Un sent
two tons of the exclusive mushroom goliath mushroom to
families in South Korea that were split from their North
Korean relatives during the war. South Korea replies in
November with sending 200 tons of mandarins to North
Korea.
Support for road and rail construction in North
Korea
November 8
President Moon has offered North Korea assistance in
upgrading its backlog infrastructure. The equivalent of
295 million won (about $ 264 million) will be spent on
building new railways and roads and improving old ones
and on connecting them with South Korea.
October
Panmunjom free from weapons and military guards
October 25th
As part of an agreement between Kim Jong-Un and
President Moon from September, weapons and military
guards are removed from the "Peace Village" Panmunjom,
an area also called the JSA (Joint Security Area) where
meetings are often held between the two Korean sides as
well as representatives for the United Nations military
operation during the Korean War (UNC, United Nations
Command). Earlier in the autumn, some 800,000 landmines
along the border had also been removed.
Prison for 15 years for former president
October 5
South Korea's former president Lee Myung-Bak is
sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption, bribery
and abuse of power by a Seoul court. According to the
court, he owned a company that was used for money
laundering and received bribes from the electronics
company Samsung. Lee will also have to pay 13 billion
won or 10 million euros in fines. Lee, who was president
in 2008-2013, is the fourth former president of the
country to receive a prison sentence.
September
New summit between North and South Korea
September 19
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un and President Moon
hold talks for the third time. During the meeting, which
takes place in Pyongyang, the two leaders reiterate the
pledges of peace and that the Korean peninsula should be
nuclear-free. Kim Jong-Un also promises to close the
Tongchang-ri robot testing facility.
Cooperation office for Korean relations
September 13
A co-operation office to contribute to better
relations between North and South Korea and facilitate
communication and exchange. South Korea's and North
Korea's reunification ministers participate in the
inauguration of the institute, which will consist of 20
officials from each country. The institute is based in
the industrial zone in Kaesong.
August
President Park's imprisonment is extended
August 24th
Former President Park Geun-Hye gets his prison
sentence for abuse of power and corruption extended by
one year. She was sentenced in April to spend 24 years
in prison. In another separate trial in July, she was
punished with eight years in prison.
Meetings between divided families
20th of August
For the first time in three years, South and North
Korea are organizing reunions between Korean families
that split after the Korean War. 83 North Koreans and 89
South Koreans have been selected this time, which is the
18th row of reunification meetings organized over the
years. Many of the participants are old and no longer
have their closest family members in life, but instead
it is about meeting cousins or other relatives.
July
New prison sentence for Park Geun-Hye
July 20
Former President Park Geun-Hye is sentenced to eight
more years in prison for corruption. She must have
received illegal contributions from the South Korean
intelligence service and influenced the elections. Park
is already serving a 24-year prison sentence for, among
other things, abuse of power. She has constantly denied
crimes and believes that the trials are politically
motivated.
June
Tighter rules for asylum seekers from Yemen
June 30th
Protests have erupted as hundreds of Yemenis have
made their way to South Korea from Yemen, via the
tourist island of Jeju, to seek political asylum in the
country. Half a million South Koreans have signed on a
list of names calling on President Moon Jae-In to expel
asylum seekers. People who have moved to the country
from North Korea are entitled to South Korean
citizenship, but only a fraction (just over 4 percent)
of the 40,000 people from other countries who have
sought asylum in the country since 1994 have been
granted it. No visa has been required to visit Jeju, but
the government has now abandoned visa waivers for
Yemenis. YemeniCitizens have also been prohibited from
traveling from the island to the South Korean mainland.
The government also announces a legislative amendment
that will shorten the asylum process, which can often
extend over time for several years.
Military exercises with the US are stopped
June 18
The government confirms that military exercises with
the US will be interrupted, as promised by US President
Trump at the historic meeting with North Korea's leaders
in Singapore a week earlier. The first exercises set
would have been held in August, when over 17,000
American soldiers would have participated.
Success for ruling DP in local elections
June 13th
President Moon Jae-ins Party The Democratic Party
wins a majority of the seats in local elections. The
party's candidates win in 14 of 17 mayoral and governor
elections. DP also wins in several conservative mounts.
It is also good for DP in the election elections held to
twelve seats in the National Assembly, where the party
takes home eleven seats. For the conservative opposition
with Korea's Freedom Party at the forefront, which
previously held almost as many parliamentary seats as
the DP, it means that it will be harder for the party to
oppose the government's bill.
May
New meeting between Moon and Kim Jong-Un
May 26
South Korea's President Moon and North Korea's Kim
Jong-Un meet again in the border village of Panmunjom.
The two Korean leaders are discussing both the planned
US-North Korea meeting, set by the US a few days
earlier, and how to proceed with the agreement reached
at the first meeting in April. They also agree to meet
more often in the future and to keep an open dialogue
between themselves.
April
Historical meeting between North and South Korea
April 27
After President Moon Jae-In and North Korea's leader
Kim Jong-Un shake hands on either side of the standstill
line, the North Korean leader steps over to South Korean
soil. The meeting is held in the South Korean border
town of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone between the
countries. Thus, Kim Jong-UN is the first North Korean
leader to be in South Korea since the Korean War. At the
summit, the two leaders will agree to work to reach a
peace treaty in 2018 and for total nuclear disarmament
on the Korean Peninsula.
Yet another president is being prosecuted
April 6
Former President Lee Myung-Bak is suspected of
corruption during his time as President 2008-2013. Among
other things, Lee should have received bribes to pardon
Samsung's chief executive Lee Kun-Hee, who had been
convicted of tax fraud.
Park is sentenced to 24 years in prison
April 6
Former President Park Geun-Hye, who was deposed in
the spring of 2017 (see March 2017) is declared guilty
of, among other things, bribery and abuse of power. She
is sentenced to 24 years in prison. Park has pleaded not
guilty and says she will appeal the verdict.
March
Kim Yong-Un and Trump will meet
March 9
The North Korean regime announces that it is prepared
to stop all robotic and nuclear tests and that Kim
Yong-Un is striving for nuclear disarmament and now
wants a conversation with Donald Trump. The message is
delivered by a South Korean delegation at a meeting at
the White House in the United States. The delegation,
led by intelligence chief Chung Eui-Yong, had met with
the North Korean leader a few days earlier. President
Trump says yes to the offer of a meeting with Kim
Yong-Un. The meeting is scheduled for May.
Summit is planned between North and South Korea
6 March
After North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un received a
South Korean government delegation at a dinner meeting,
information will be held that a summit will be held with
the two countries' leaders in the border town of
Panmunjom in late April. According to South Korea, the
North Korean regime has said it is prepared to pause the
testing of robots while negotiations are ongoing. The
summit will be the first in over a decade. The North
Korean leader should also have said that he is prepared
to discuss a scrapping of the nuclear weapons program if
the regime's security can be guaranteed.
February
North Korean delegation meets Moon
February 25th
A delegation from North Korea led by a controversial
general will meet President Moon Jae-In as the
Pyongchang Winter Olympics end. North Korean General Kim
Yong-Chol is accused in South Korea of supporting,
among other things, the 2010 attack on the South Korean
vessel Cheonan.
Ex-President Park's girlfriend sentenced to 20 years
in prison
February 13
Deputy President Park Geun-Hyes close friend and
adviser Choi Soon-Sil is sentenced to 20 years in prison
by a Seoul court. She is declared guilty of, among other
things, bribery and abuse of power (see November 2016).
She will also pay damages of SEK 130 million.
Approach between North and South Korea at the
Olympics
February 10
North and South Korean participants in the Olympics
together behind a reunion flag during the inaugural
ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics. President Moon and
North Korea's Former Head of State Kim Yong-Nam as well
as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-Jong
later also hold a joint meeting. It is the first time
since the end of the Korean War that so high-ranking
North Koreans visit South Korea. Moon is also invited by
Kim Jong-Un to a summit in Pyongyang, to be held as soon
as possible.
Samsung's chief executive is released
February 5
Samsung chief Lee Jae-Yong escapes his prison
sentence after a court halved an earlier verdict against
him (see August 2017). The court removes several points
in the indictment relating to bribery and embezzlement,
but Lee faces a conditional sentence of 2.5 years. Lee,
despite being released, intends to go ahead and appeal
the verdict.
January
Strong growth in 2017
January 25
The South Korean economy is growing at just over 3
percent in 2017. That's the best result in three years,
according to the Central Bank of Korea. It is above all
technology exports that have contributed to the good
development.
US new duties on washing machines hit South Korea
January 23
The message that the US is imposing high tariffs on
washing machines and solar panels is being criticized by
the South Korean government, which plans to file a
protest with the WTO as it is believed to be in breach
of the free trade agreement between the countries. For
South Korean companies, such as Samsung, sales of
washing machines in the United States are significant.
The decision to sharply increase tariffs on major
washing machines over a three-year period has been made
by US President Donald Trump as part of his America
First policy, which is to protect American producers.
South Korea removed from list of tax havens
January 23
South Korea is deleted from the list of tax havens
published by the EU in December 2017. Together with
seven other blacklisted countries / territories, it is
now being transferred to a "gray" list of 55 countries
considered to be in line with EU standards in terms of
tax and financial legislation.
Historical conversation between North and South
January 10
For the first time in two years, the Korean states
are meeting for high-level talks in the city of
Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone between the
countries. During the meeting, North Korea announces
that it will participate in the Winter Olympics in South
Korea with a sports delegation. The two countries also
agree to join in during the Olympic inauguration. South
Korea declares that it will investigate the conditions
for suspending sanctions against Pyongyang temporarily
to allow North Korea to participate in the sporting
event. Seoul also proposes arranging new reunions for
Korean families that split after the Korean War.
South Korea adheres to Japan agreement
January 9
Although President Moon Jae-In said during the 2017
election campaign that he could not "accept" the 2015
agreement with Japan, where Japan pays compensation to
South Korean women who were used as sex slaves during
World War II and apologizes for the action, the
government has decided not to try to renegotiate the
agreement. The fact that Japanese government officials
have not admitted that the country is legally
responsible for the abuses, but claims that it was civil
Japanese who were responsible, has been criticized in
South Korea.
North Korea opens "hotline" to South Korea
January 3rd
North Korea opens the communication channel with
South Korea, a so-called hotline, where the countries'
leaders can talk to each other. South Korea confirms
that they received a call, the first in about two years,
at half past four in the afternoon local time. It should
have lasted for about 20 minutes. The North Korean
leader has said he wants to start a dialogue between the
countries, and that he is considering sending
participants to the Winter Olympics in South Korea,
which will begin in February.
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