Korea should have farsighted policy to secure resources
The global supply chain is faltering, as prices of major energy resources, including oil, coal and gas, are surging at the same time as the world faces its "great logistical turmoil." Resource-poor Korea should have already secured overseas resources to prepare for a crisis such as this. However, the country has failed to do so because of a lack of preparation.
According to a report submitted to a related National Assembly committee, the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) poured about 162.7 billion won ($137 million) into overseas oil exploration projects from 2019 to this past June. However, its drilling success rate during this period was zero. All seven projects it undertook have remained in the exploratory phase without reaching the production stage.
Energy-related state enterprises' investments into overseas resource projects totaled $713 million last year ― one-tenth of the $7.03 billion invested under the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2011. But, not only have these public companies refrained from launching new projects, they are also disposing of existing ones, one after another.
Under the Moon Jae-in administration, the Korea Mine Rehabilitation & Mineral Resources Corp. (Komir) sold off its shares in an Australian bituminous coal mine in 2018, as well as copper mines in the U.S., Chile, and Canada this year. The incumbent government nipped overseas resources development projects in the bud, stigmatizing the Lee administration's various projects as "deep-rooted evils."
Faced with an energy crisis, the government is busy working out countermeasures by launching an ad-hoc group, but to little avail. Securing energy and mineral resources is directly linked to the country's national security, going beyond its economy. Analysts say that Europe, which relies on Russia for half of its natural gas demand, could be held hostage by the former leader of the communist bloc.
Korea depends on imports for 92.7 percent of its energy needs. Policies related to energy and resources are a matter of life or death for this country, regarding its national competitiveness and security. Changes in political power should never sway them. It is time for Korea to secure overseas resources actively by putting forward a farsighted policy that transcends partisan politics.
The global supply chain is faltering, as prices of major energy resources, including oil, coal and gas, are surging at the same time as the world faces its "great logistical turmoil." Resource-poor Korea should have already secured overseas resources to prepare for a crisis such as this. However, the country has failed to do so because of a lack of preparation.
According to a report submitted to a related National Assembly committee, the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) poured about 162.7 billion won ($137 million) into overseas oil exploration projects from 2019 to this past June. However, its drilling success rate during this period was zero. All seven projects it undertook have remained in the exploratory phase without reaching the production stage.
Energy-related state enterprises' investments into overseas resource projects totaled $713 million last year ― one-tenth of the $7.03 billion invested under the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2011. But, not only have these public companies refrained from launching new projects, they are also disposing of existing ones, one after another.
Under the Moon Jae-in administration, the Korea Mine Rehabilitation & Mineral Resources Corp. (Komir) sold off its shares in an Australian bituminous coal mine in 2018, as well as copper mines in the U.S., Chile, and Canada this year. The incumbent government nipped overseas resources development projects in the bud, stigmatizing the Lee administration's various projects as "deep-rooted evils."
Faced with an energy crisis, the government is busy working out countermeasures by launching an ad-hoc group, but to little avail. Securing energy and mineral resources is directly linked to the country's national security, going beyond its economy. Analysts say that Europe, which relies on Russia for half of its natural gas demand, could be held hostage by the former leader of the communist bloc.
Korea depends on imports for 92.7 percent of its energy needs. Policies related to energy and resources are a matter of life or death for this country, regarding its national competitiveness and security. Changes in political power should never sway them. It is time for Korea to secure overseas resources actively by putting forward a farsighted policy that transcends partisan politics.
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