South Korea pledges 1,000 trillion won for carbon-neutral growth by 2035

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced a 1,000 trillion won public investment to achieve carbon neutrality and promote sustainable growth by 2035, supplemented by an anticipated 220 trillion won from private companies. Through the Korea-Green Transformation (K-GX) initiative, the funding will help high-emitting industries—steel, petrochemicals, cement, semiconductors, displays and refining—adopt low-carbon processes and expand renewable generation to 100 GW by 2030 via solar, wind and grid upgrades.

Emissions are targeted to fall 53-61 % below 2018 levels, with a longer-term goal of net-zero by 2050. The government will broaden subsidy programmes so that over 70 % of newly registered vehicles are electric or hydrogen fuel-cell by 2035, and will provide financial aid to aging industrial complexes and the shipbuilding and logistics sectors vulnerable to extreme weather. Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, POSCO Holdings and Hanwha Qcells have pledged to shift to renewable energy and develop decarbonisation technologies, while tax incentives and regulatory easing aim to draw broader private participation in the decade-long K-GX effort.