*4.1. Energy Dependence*

Korea's energy dependence was first evaluated by quantitatively measuring the energy import ratio and energy import dependence. Figure 1 shows the trend of Korea's energy import ratio, as expressed in Equation (1). The units of *EIT* and *AIT* are both USD. Korea's energy imports account for over 14% of total imports during the period between 1991 and 2018. From 1991 to 2012, the energy import ratio increased globally by 35.6% with fluctuations. From 2013 to 2016, the ratio decreased significantly by 19.9%. Then the value rebounded, respectively, to 22.9% and 27.3% in 2017, 2018. Slight increases and decreases in the import ratio appeared in the periods 1999–2000, 2004–2005, 2007–2008, 2008–2009, 2010–2011, 2014–2016, and 2016–2018.

**Figure 1.** Energy import ratio.

It is worth noting that these trends match well enough to the oil price fluctuations in Korea as shown in Figure 2. As oil imports are a large share of Korea's total energy imports, it is reasonable that the energy import ratio in monetary terms is significantly influenced by the oil price. The ratio drops with a decrease in oil prices after 2013, even though the amount of oil imports increases in this period [41]. As this situation may not be stable, Korea needs a buffer system against the surge of oil prices to ensure its energy supply security and a stable domestic economy.

**Figure 2.** Oil price trend in Korea.

Under these conditions, the oil stock levels of net imports in Korea have consistently been recorded above 180 days since September 2009. This is double the value of the IEA 90-day requirements. According to historical data, the oil stock levels of Korea hit 309 days in March 2016. Figure 3 shows the oil stock levels in days of net imports given by the International Energy Agency [42].

**Figure 3.** Closing oil stock levels of net imports.

Compared with the average value of total IEA countries, including net exporters such as Canada, Denmark, and Norway, Korea reserved more oil than other IEA countries until 2015. This indicator shows Korea's awareness of the importance of both the accessibility and availability of energy. However, the oil stock levels of Korea decreased by 184 days in 2018. This value is lower than that of the average value of total IEA net importers in the same period.

Figure 4 illustrates Korea's energy import dependence. A physical term of primary energy imports rather than a monetary term was used to remove the influence of oil price on the dependence as shown in Figure 1. The value of energy import dependence has been greater than 90% since 1991. From 1991 to 1997, energy dependence increased from 91.20% to 97.79% with the economic development of the country. After the liquidity crisis in 1997, the dependence moderately decreased because of the drop in domestic consumption. After 2012, the value decreased more visibly to 94.5%.

**Figure 4.** Korea's energy import dependence.

Amongst the primary energy sources supplied to Korea, almost all fuels have been imported from foreign countries. For example, the entire quantities of bituminous coal, crude oil, and uranium are imported from outside of the country. Energy resources such as anthracite coal and LNG are partially produced in Korea, but the quantity is very small. In the case of anthracite coal, its import dependence was approximately 10% in the early 1990s. However, because of anthracite coal reserve limits, the import dependence gradually

increases, reaching 89.19% in 2018. Besides, although the Korea Gas Corporation produced LNG, the amount of LNG is less than 2% of the total supply in the country. To lower energy import dependence, the proportion of energy produced in Korea should be increased. This does not only mean the use of reserved fossil fuel but also the gradual increase of renewable energy such as hydro energy, solar energy, wind energy, and bioenergy, among others. In line with this, Korea is planning a scenario 2030, aiming to achieve 20% of the total amount of electricity generation from renewables by 2030 [43,44].
