President Lee Jae-myung emphasized on Saturday that as part of efforts to transition to renewable energy, "we need to consider dramatically expanding electric vehicle purchase subsidies in regions that produce large amounts of renewable energy."
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheongwadae, the presidential office, Lee said, "Even at this very moment, there are cases where renewable energy production is being curtailed because of oversupply." He added, "We must find every possible way to use the electricity being produced — even if through EV charging — to replace fossil fuel energy, and significantly expand renewable energy production." He stressed, "Crisis is opportunity. Under normal circumstances it would be difficult, but in a crisis people are mentally prepared to accept change, so resistance decreases and change becomes easier to achieve."
Kim Sung-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, also said, "We will apply differentiated support and dramatically increase electric vehicle purchase subsidies."
President Lee raised his voice on the need to "respond preemptively and boldly" to overcome difficulties stemming from the war in the Middle East. He said, "Given our high dependence on foreign sources and the large share of energy supply coming from the Middle East, we need even more thorough monitoring and meticulous emergency measures." He ordered, "Each government ministry must monitor supply trends for the items under its charge on a daily basis and take preemptive, bold action against supply instability concerns."
Lee also mentioned the possibility of invoking emergency fiscal orders, saying, "When we face a certain situation and deliberate on countermeasures, we generally tend to rely on existing practices and conventional procedures." He added, "A more proactive and aggressive response is needed. Since last week, emergency supply adjustment measures for naphtha have been implemented. Core raw materials such as urea, urea solution, helium and aluminum must also be managed as strictly as wartime supplies."