South Korea Faces 25-30 GW Power Demand Surge as AI Boom Drives Nuclear Energy Expansion Plans

South Korea Power Demand Set to Jump 25-30 GW

South Korea power demand is poised for a dramatic surge as the AI boom transforms the nation's energy landscape. Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-whan revealed that AI-driven power needs alone will lift demand by 25 to 30 gigawatts in the coming years1

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. This increase, equivalent to approximately 20 nuclear reactors based on South Korean design standards, stems from aggressive expansion plans by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, two of the world's largest chipmakers whose products form the backbone of AI infrastructure1

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Accelerated Timeline for Chip Manufacturing Plants

The timeline for semiconductor manufacturing expansion has been dramatically compressed. Projects originally slated for completion around 2045 have been significantly accelerated and are now due by the early 2030s, according to the energy minister1

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. This acceleration is part of an 800 trillion won ($590 billion) mega project announced by the government, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix pledging to build new facilities in the country's southwest1

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. The revised official forecast paints an even more dramatic picture: peak demand in 2040 is now projected at 158.4 to 165 gigawatts, compared to 131.8 to 138.2 gigawatts estimated just four months earlier in April2

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. Current peak demand sits around 100 gigawatts2

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AI-Driven Data Centers Fuel Energy Appetite

AI-driven data centers represent a substantial portion of the projected increase, accounting for 11.9 gigawatts in the working forecast2

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. This figure nearly triples the earlier estimate and reflects only the first phase of projects with firm details—planners set aside an additional 9.9 gigawatts from corporate submissions deemed too uncertain2

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. Several U.S. tech companies, including Nvidia, have expressed interest in building data centers in South Korea specifically because of its dependable power supply, Kim told Reuters1

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. The commercial pull is clear: the reliability that attracts the load is precisely what the load puts under strain.

Nuclear Energy as Essential Solution

Kim described nuclear energy as "an essential element to consider within the power generation structure of our energy mix" ahead of next month's update to the long-term energy roadmap, which extends planning by two years to 20401

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. Asia's fourth-largest economy currently operates 26 nuclear reactors, which account for just under a third of the country's power needs1

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. While South Korea aims to boost renewables—currently at 11% of power needs, one of the lowest shares in the OECD—reliance on nuclear energy is unavoidable for now despite safety risks, the energy minister stated1

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. Park Woo-young of the Korea Energy Economics Institute argues that among carbon-free sources, nuclear is effectively the only one able to follow the load patterns a grid experiences, which is precisely what a cluster of chip manufacturing plants and AI-driven data centers running continuously demands2

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Balanced Energy Mix and Additional Demand Drivers

Beyond AI infrastructure, South Korea must contend with increased power demand from the shift to electric vehicles from gasoline-engine cars and to heating via electricity rather than gas1

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. The current balanced energy mix includes coal at 29% and gas at 27% of power needs1

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. The country operates 60 coal-fired power plants and aims to phase them out by 2040, though 20 will still have legal design lifespans beyond that point and could serve as emergency backup power1

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Public Safety Concerns and Strategic Risks

A poll by the state-run Korea Energy Information Culture Agency found 79% of 2,000 respondents supported including new nuclear plants in the long-term energy roadmap1

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. However, public safety concerns persist at the local level. In May, a civic group in Ulsan, a potential site for new plants, collected more than 10,000 signatures opposing additional reactors on safety grounds1

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. Han Ga-hee of Solutions for Our Climate warned that building forecasts on unverified corporate submissions risks overinvestment in generating capacity, a concern with weight given the grid operator's existing debt burden2

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. Conversely, Seoul National University's Kim Hee-jip cautioned that supply shortfalls preventing the country from pursuing advanced manufacturing or AI would constitute a strategic mistake2

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. The government proposal is due in October, with the plan finalized by year's end2

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