에너지전환과 지방정부의 역할: 문재인 정부의 재생에너지 정책을 중심으로

Energy Transition and Roles of Local Governments: Renewable Energy Policy under the Moon Jae-in Administration

In December 2017, the Moon Jae-in administration announced a major policy shift away from nuclear and coal, committing itself to the vision of creating a society where renewable sources account for 20% of its electricity generation by 2030. This energy transition involves not just a technical transition from conventional energy sources to renewable energy but also active participation of multiple stakeholders in the energy governance. While energy policy making has long been dominated by the central government in Korea with the aim of managing the supply for rapid industrialization and economic growth, the Moon administration aims to diffuse the central governmentʼs authority across various actors in society. Among those actors, this study focuses on the roles that local governments play in energy transition. Despite deepening local autonomy since 1995, Korean local governments have remained policy targets or recipients in the energy policy domain. This article discusses how such a traditional role has evolved under the new administrationʼs energy transition policy and examines what challenges and limitations local governments face in creating a more decentralized energy governance system.