One company owns more than 70% of South Korea's operating power generation capacity.

The country's overall operating generation capacity totals about 121 GW, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, with natural gas and coal resources comprising nearly two-thirds of the total and nuclear making up another 20%.

Slightly more than half of the planned nearly 30-GW capacity comes from gas and coal, according to Market Intelligence, with new nuclear and wind also contributing.

According to the World Nuclear Association, four nuclear units at two sites totaling 5.6 GW are under construction and are due to begin operation by 2024.

South Korea's electric grid is isolated from any neighboring countries, and it imports most of its fuel needs.

Korea Electric Power Corp., known as KEPCO, owns 101 GW of operating and planned generating capacity, according to Market Intelligence data, as well as the country's transmission and distribution grids. Its ownership includes the Korean government, the government-owned Korea Development Bank and the country's National Pension Service.

The company includes five regional power generation subsidiaries and a sixth that holds, among other things, all 24 operating nuclear units.

KEPCO develops power plants outside of South Korea as well, including the four-unit Barakah nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates, which was connected to the grid in 2020. Overall, the company has developed nearly 50 projects in 24 countries.

In 2020, one of KEPCO's power generation subsidiaries, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., acquired a 49.9% interest in an 852-MW portfolio of wind generating assets in the U.S.

South Korea is targeting renewable energy resources to make up 20% of its power generation mix by 2030 and 30%-35% by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency.

Within that target are specific objectives for offshore wind, and that has attracted some international players. Among them are Norway-headquartered oil major Equinor ASA, which in late 2021 linked up with KEPCO subsidiary Korean East-West Power Co. on a 3-GW development, and Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted A/S, which in January established agreements with two other KEPCO subsidiaries on a 1.6-GW development.

Also, French oil major TotalEnergies SE secured an electric business license for a three-phase floating offshore wind facility of up to 1.5 GW.

On April 6, Germany-headquartered investment management firm Aquila Capital Holdings GmbH established a partnership with a South Korean renewable energy asset development company, TopInfra, with a pipeline of 430 MW of solar and 1,000 MW of wind projects, plus battery energy storage systems.