Woo Tae-hee, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated at a forum on green hydrogen that the South Korean government should assist businesses in constructing a hydrogen economy because using the renewable energy ensures growth as companies compete to reduce their carbon footprints.

Woo stated at a meeting co-hosted by the KCCI and the International Finance Corporation, “I believe it is time for us to transform the climate problem into an opportunity to secure the hydrogen market and strengthen our economy by strong commitment and collective knowledge.”

The vice chairman urged the administration of Yoon Suk-yeol to establish what he described as a foundation to encourage enterprises to enter the burgeoning industry.

Woo was referring to modifications to a legislation detailing how businesses should utilize hydrogen and the types of government support they would receive for investigating cutting-edge technologies. Sunday, after a year of deliberation, the National Assembly ratified the new law.

Park Young-il, deputy minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Finance, stated that South Korea was the first major economy to develop a dedicated legal framework for hydrogen. He added that support for a hydrogen economy would extend beyond assisting the private sector to increase investment.

“We will use all of our international networks, including trust funds in international organizations… to form strategic relationships with hydrogen producers,” Park stated at the meeting.

Park noted that the transition to a hydrogen-based economy would be beneficial since it would lessen the nation’s dependency on fossil fuels, resulting in a more sustainable economy.

Regional vice president for Asia and the Pacific at the IFC, Alfonso Garcia Mora, emphasized the importance of novel finance mechanisms for scaling up hydrogen production and ensuring its long-term commercial and environmental viability.