SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Michael Chang, Sang-Hyun Lee, Su-Yong Jung and Jae-Wook Ryu, Shin & Kim
An electricity business operator undertaking anti- competitive actions in the market may be subject to administrative dispositions such as corrective actions and administrative fines, as well as criminal penalties such as imprisonment and fines. 3. Generation Facilities 3.1 Constructing and Operating Generation Facilities The principal laws that govern the construction and operation of generation facilities are the Electric Utility Act and Electrical Construction Business Act. As discussed, the Electric Utility Act provides for gen- eral regulations on the electricity business including: • an EBL; • stabilisation of electricity supply, safety manage- ment of electric facilities and composition of the electricity market; and • the KPX, ERC and the Korea Electrical Safety Cor- poration. The major approvals required under the Electric Utility Act are the EBL, approval or report of the construction plan for electric facilities for electric utility and pre-use inspection. In general, the Minister of MCEE (in cer- tain circumstances, the mayor or governor) has the authority to issue such permits, approvals and reports. The Electrical Construction Business Act provides for the standards regarding construction, management and supervision of generation facilities and regulates the electrical construction business registration, orders for and subcontracting of electrical construction and technical management. The major approval required under the Electrical Construction Business Act is the registration of electrical construction business, which must be filed with the relevant local authority. Also, administrative regulations provide guidelines and elaborate on the obligations of generation busi- ness entities and the following are material regulations that affect the electricity industry:
• Specific Standards for Electricity Business Licenc- es; • Standards for Calculation of Electric Utility Charge; • Public Notice on Permissible Errors of Electric Meters and Operation of Electric Power System; and • Standards on Electric Facilities Technology. All entities engaged in the electricity business have the obligation to maintain facilities that they have installed or operate to comply with such standards, and are subject to regular inspections. 3.2 Obtaining Approvals to Construct and Operate Generation Facilities Regulatory Categories The regulatory process for obtaining all approvals can be categorised into the below five categories, and the relevant laws are as follows: • new and renewable energy policy – New and Renewable Energy Act; • entry into and operation of generation business – Electric Utility Act; • construction, management and supervision of gen- eration facilities – Electrical Construction Business Act; • generation facilities site – National Land Planning and Utilisation Act; and • environment – Environmental Impact Assessment Act and various laws regulating emission of pollut- ants. For offshore wind projects, the Special Offshore Wind Power Act introduces a separate framework involving planned development zones, operator selection and implementation plan approval. For agrivoltaic pro- jects, the Act on the Promotion and Support of Agri- voltaic Power Generation Projects (passed on 7 May 2026) is expected to create an independent approval system distinct from a conventional power generation business licence, with eligibility limitations intended to ensure that projects are operated in parallel with genuine farming activities. Obtaining Approvals The general order for obtaining approvals is as fol- lows:
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