SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Michael Chang, Sang-Hyun Lee, Su-Yong Jung and Jae-Wook Ryu, Shin & Kim
3.3 Approvals to Construct and Operate Generation Facilities Generally, EBLs provide for obligations under the Elec- tric Utility Act regarding the installation and operation of electric facilities; and approval of division, merger or business acquisition and an EBL may be cancelled for violation of such obligations. The following additional conditions are frequently imposed, although the conditions will vary for each business. The operator: • must comply with the obligations under the Electric Utility Act and other relevant laws and regulations; • must commence operations within the approved preparation period and, in the event of a cause of delay, must apply for an extension before the installation period; • must obtain approvals required for development activity, construction, conversion of mountainous districts, occupation and use of roads under the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Building Act, National Land Planning and Utilisation Act, Cultural Heritage Protection Act, Road Act and environmental laws; • must conduct prior negotiations with relevant authorities if the generation capacity is to be modi- fied during the process of obtaining the above approvals and must comply with the review of the relevant agencies; • must report the construction plan to the relevant local authorities to commence construction under the Electric Utility Act after obtaining the above approvals; • must use best efforts to implement safety meas- ures during construction to promote safety and minimise environmental damage and, in the event of inevitable environmental damage, must restore without delay after construction completion; and • must sufficiently gather and reflect the opinion of interested parties, including neighbouring landown- ers and residents, through information sessions, and conduct the business after implementing measures to prevent civil complaints. Other than modification approvals or reports, the Elec- tric Utility Act does not explicitly provide for required procedures to amend or relax a term or condition of
hearings of residents are required at certain stages, such as the development activity permit. Processing time Although it may vary based on the scale and location of the project, the general processing time is as fol- lows. • One to three months for an EBL. • If required, one year for a full-scale environmental impact assessment or three months for a small- scale environmental impact assessment. • One year or more, excluding environmental impact assessment, for the development activity permit, which is divided up between: (a) the assessment based on the evaluation crite- ria – three months; (b) the consultation and discussion with relevant administrative bodies – three months; (c) the evaluation by the Urban Planning Commis- sion – two to three months; and (d) the evaluation by the Central Urban Planning Commission – two to three months. • The Minister of MCEE’s approval of the construc- tion plan may require one to two months. In order to ease the administrative burden on small- scale photovoltaic power generation businesses with a generation capacity of less than 3,000 kW, the permit process for photovoltaic power generation business- es has been simplified by allowing the development activities permit, which is required under the National Planning and Utilisation Act, to be deemed granted. Approvals for Operation Licences and permits are not particularly required by law for the operation and maintenance of generation facilities. However, if an O&M operator performs elec- trical work as part of operation and maintenance, that O&M operator must hold an electrical construction business licence. The Electrical Construction Business Act provides that electrical work cannot be entirely subcontracted to a third party, but the main part thereof must be per- formed directly by an electrical contractor.
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