Opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung won South Korea's presidential election on 3 June. His win could bring about significant shifts in the country's energy mix away from fossil fuels.

Lee is the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party and was up against Kim Moon-soo of the incumbent People Power Party.

South Korea has faced much political turmoil over the past few months. The country impeached then-president Yoon Suk Yeol on 14 December, after he declared martial law on 3 December and ended it about six hours later. Yoon "committed the crime of internal rebellion by abusing the right" to declare martial law, according to the National Assembly's impeachment motion, which called the martial law declaration an "unconstitutional and illegal act".

Acting president and prime minister Han Duck-soo was also impeached less than two weeks later and subsequently resigned on 1 May.

Lee's appointment as president could accelerate the country's energy transition efforts. He has campaigned to completely phase out coal-fired power plants by 2040. Coal took up 28.4pc of South Korea's energy mix in 2024, and the country is the world's fourth-largest coal importer, taking around 86mn t in 2024, Argus data show.

Under Lee's plan, the share of nuclear energy in South Korea's power generation would rise from 31.4pc in 2024 to 60pc, and renewables would grow from 10pc to 24pc. The share of LNG would fall from 28pc to 15pc, but no specific timeline was provided for these changes.

His proposals also include ramping up renewable energy initiatives, and introducing carbon taxes and incentives for green investment.

Lee will also have to navigate economic uncertainty arising from US tariffs, like many other heads of states. US president Donald Trump has most recently indicated he will double tariffs on imported steel to 50pc, effective from 4 June. South Korea exported 1.55mn t of finished steel to the US in 2024, according to GTT data.

By Prethika Nair