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RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 7252
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7188
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8256
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RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
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RUCPDC/NOAA WASHINGTON DC
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RHMFIUU/CHJUSMAGK SEOUL KOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 000092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/IHB, OES/SAT, OES/PCI AND OES/EGC 
STATE FOR EAP/K, ISN/NESS AND STAS 
STATE PASS TO EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP AND CEQ 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL, NE, FE, AND EERE 
USDOC FOR 4400/MAC/EAP/OPB/ITA/TA 
USDOC FOR NIST 
HHS FOR OGHA 
HHS PASS TO NIH FOR FIC 
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTL PROGRAMS 
STATE PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EIND ENRG PGOV PREL TBIO TRGY TSPA KS
SUBJECT: SEOUL ESTH UPDATE - DECEMBER 2009 
 
IN THIS ISSUE 
 
- Wind to be Korea's Third Largest Renewable Energy Source 
- World's Largest Tidal Power Plant to be Built near Incheon 
- LG Chem to Provide Batteries to U.S. Component Maker 
- KEPCO to Install Electric Vehicle Battery Chargers in 2011 
- Regulations Eased for Electric Vehicles 
- South Korea Aims to Export 80 Nuclear Energy Reactors by 2030 
- Government Proposes New Sejong City as a Science Hub 
- Korea's First Weather Satellite to Be Launched This Year 
- Korean Scientists Discover New Alzheimer's Gene 
- New Rules on HIV Testing of Foreign Workers Causes Confusion 
- More Koreans Smoke 
- Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) 
 
---------------------- 
Energy and Environment 
---------------------- 
 
Wind to be Korea's Third Largest 
Renewable Energy Source 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  In January 2008, Korea revised the goal of raising the share of 
new and renewable energy in its total energy equation from 2.6 
percent in 2008 to 6 percent in 2020, and 11 percent in 2030. 
Korea's New and Renewable 2030 Vision stipulates wind energy to be 
developed and deployed as the third largest source of renewable 
energy in Korea, after waste incineration and biomass. To meet that 
goal, Korea plans to invest USD 161 million on wind energy during 
the 2008-12 period.  Investments will focus on the development and 
manufacture of 1-MW, 2-MW, and 3-MW turbine systems and components. 
 
 
¶2.  The current total installed wind generation capacity in Korea is 
just 350 megawatts (MW), representing only 0.1 percent of the 
nation's electric demand.   According to recent data of the Korea 
Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, 206 wind 
turbines currently operate on 20 wind farms throughout the country. 
Unison Company, Ltd., a private wind energy developer in South 
Korea, has installed the biggest wind farm to date (49 2-MW wind 
turbines) in Kangwon Province.  The company is in discussions to 
supply 1000 wind turbines to China over a 5-year period, a deal 
valued in some press reports as high as USD 3.2 billion.  Separately 
on January 20, the Canadian province of Ontario selected Korea 
Electric Power Company (KEPCO) and Samsung Corporation to jointly 
build a large wind and solar power generation complex to be 
completed by 2016.  The value of the contract is reportedly worth 
USD 5.5 billion. 
 
World's Largest Tidal Power Plant 
To Be Built near Incheon 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  GS Engineering and Construction signed an MOU with state-run 
Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) on January 20 to begin 
construction this year on a 1.3 million kilowatt/hour tidal power 
station of the coast of Incheon, which will generate the equivalent 
of 60 percent of Incheon's household electricity consumption by the 
time of its completion in 2017.  The facility will be the world's 
largest tidal power plant in terms of electricity generation. 
Currently, the largest tidal power plant in the world (and the 
 
SEOUL 00000092  002 OF 005 
 
 
oldest) is the Rance Tidal Power Station in France with 400,000 kw/h 
generating capacity. 
 
 
LG Chem to Provide Batteries to 
U.S. Component Maker 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. said on January 5 that it will begin 
supplying lithium-ion batteries for commercial hybrid electric 
vehicles (HEVs) to Eaton Corp., a U.S. commercial vehicle components 
maker in November 2010.  LG Chem plans to expand the assembly line 
of Compact Power Inc., its U.S. unit, in anticipation of increasing 
its supply of plug-in, rechargeable batteries to Eaton, the company 
said in a statement.   Eaton dominates the U.S. commercial HEV 
component market, LG Chem said. 
 
KEPCO to Install Electric Vehicle 
Battery Chargers in 2011 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), South Korea's sole 
electric utility provider, announced January that that it has 
successfully developed electric vehicle battery chargers that can be 
used by consumers at roadside fuel stations.   The company said it 
had tested the reliability of the chargers on electric vehicle 
batteries that will be installed in Hyundai and Kia Motors electric 
vehicles.   The KEPCO chargers offer a stable recharging capacity, 
credit card payment capability, and a face recognition function to 
prevent ID fraud using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards. 
Although the company plans to work further on enhancing the function 
and design of the prototype, it said it expects to be able to 
install them in services stations in Seoul and along the nation's 
highways in 2011. 
 
Regulations Eased for Electric Vehicles 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  In conjunction with its drive to encourage the manufacture and 
use of electric vehicles, the government is changing regulations 
that will make it easier for small "neighborhood" electric vehicles 
to be legally driven on the country's roads.  The Ministry of Land, 
Transport and Maritime Affairs published a public notice on its 
website January 21 revising the Enforcement Decree of the Automobile 
Management Act allowing owners of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles to 
be operated on designated roads in the country.  Neighborhood 
Electric Vehicles are defined as electric-powered vehicles that 
weigh less than 1100 kilograms and have a maximum speed of 60 
kilometers per hour.  The vehicles will not be allowed to run on the 
country's highways or roads where the speed limit is above 60 
km/hr. 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
-------------------- 
 
South Korea Aims to Export 80 Nuclear 
Energy Reactors by 2030 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  According to the Office of the President, President Lee stressed 
that the nuclear power industry will become a new growth engine for 
 
SEOUL 00000092  003 OF 005 
 
 
the country.  In keeping with that goal, the Ministry of Knowledge 
Economy (MKE) reported on January 13 that it has set an aggressive 
goal for Korea to export 80 nuclear reactors by the end of 2030, 
which would make Korea one of the world's top three suppliers of 
nuclear energy.  Meeting that target would create more than 1.5 
million new jobs in Korea, according to MKE.  With its winning bid 
to export four reactors and build a nuclear energy power plant 
complex in the United Arab Emirates, Korea has become the world's 
sixth country to export nuclear energy reactors, joining the United 
States, Russia, France, Japan and Canada. 
 
¶8.  The government's long-term strategy plans include the domestic 
development of major core technologies such as reactor cooling 
systems, control instrumentation devices, and design code systems, 
currently supplied by foreign companies such as Westinghouse.  To 
accomplish this strategy, the government will earmark USD 88.5 
million for research and development on these technologies.  The 
government also plans to join the private sector in investing USD 
365 million by 2017 in R&D to expand the life expectancy of nuclear 
power plants from 60 to 80 years and to reduce reactor construction 
time from 52 to 36 months. 
 
¶9.  Government Proposes New Sejong City as a Science Hub 
In a 2005 campaign pledge to promote balanced regional development 
and garner votes in a crucial swing region, then President Roh 
Moo-hyun promised to relocate nine central government ministries and 
four subsidiary agencies to the planned Sejong City, located in 
South Chungcheong Province, some 150 kilometers south of Seoul, 
beginning in 2012.  The National Assembly passed controversial 
legislation in 2005 to implement Roh's campaign pledge.  On January 
11 of this year, the Lee Myung-bak administration announced plans to 
scrap Roh's plan.  Prime Minister Chung Un-chan announced at a press 
conference that the government would propose instead turning the new 
city into a business and science hub by building an international 
science-business center and encouraging Samsung, Hanwha, Woongjin, 
Lotte, and Austrian solar energy developer SSF to build plants there 
and Korea University and the Korea Advanced Institute for Science 
and Technology (KAIST) to build new campuses there.   The revised 
draft plan calls for investment of a total of 16.5 trillion won (USD 
15 million) over the next 10 years about half from the government 
for construction of public facilities and half from the private 
sector for private construction. 
 
¶10.  In addition, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology 
said it would build an international science belt on an 815-acre 
area in Sejong City with a total investment of 3.5 trillion won (USD 
3.2 million) by 2015.  The four key facilities to be located in the 
science belt include an international graduate school for science, a 
basic research institute, a heavy ion collider research center, and 
a nuclear fusion research institute.  These facilities would enhance 
Sejong City's image as an international science center, the ministry 
said. 
 
¶11.  President Lee has the support of a majority of the ruling Grand 
National Party to revise the Sejong City plan, but party-rival and 
2012 presidential contender Park Geun-hye is opposed.  Lee's plan 
cannot pass without the support of Park's faction.  The likely 
outcome is a stalemate to be decided in the 2012 presidential 
election. 
 
Korea's First Weather Satellite 
To Be Launched This Year 
 
SEOUL 00000092  004 OF 005 
 
 
------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  South Korea plans to launch its first weather satellite in the 
first half of this year, hoping to enhance the speed and accuracy of 
its forecasting, the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute 
(KARI) said on January 13.  According to the KARI press release, the 
maritime communication and weather satellite will be launched by 
Arianespace from the Guyana Space Center in French Guyana.  It will 
be placed in geostationary orbit some 36,000 kilometers above the 
Korea peninsula, equipped with a multi-spectrum camera and sensor 
array that can closely monitor typhoons, ocean temperatures, and the 
movement of dust and cloud formations.  It will be programmed to 
conduct up to 10 ocean meteorological observations a day and send 
this information to ground controllers on a real-time basis.  Korea 
has already placed several remote sensing, scientific and 
communication satellites into orbit through Arianespace and other 
foreign space agencies.  Its first attempt to domestically launch 
and place a satellite into orbit last July was unsuccessful. 
Another domestic launch is tentatively scheduled for late May 2010. 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
Korean Scientists Discover 
New Alzheimer's Gene 
-------------------------- 
 
¶13.  A research team led by Dr. Suh Yoo-hun of Seoul National 
University and funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and 
Technology, has linked the human gene S100a9 as an underlying cause 
of Alzheimer's Disease.  The team used an "advanced chip array 
method" to detect overly active gene manifestations in the S100a9 
gene of Alzheimer's patients.  In addition, the team also found that 
injecting laboratory mice genetically modified to have Alzheimer's 
Disease with RNA specifically designed to interfere with the S100a9 
gene resulted in a reduction of memory loss and other symptoms 
associated with the disease.  The discovery has been published in 
the latest issue of PLoS One, an international, Internet-based 
peer-reviewed publication. 
 
New Rules on HIV Testing of Foreign 
Workers Causes Confusion 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  South Korea lifted its entry ban on HIV-positive foreigners 
effective January 1, 2010.  However, the Ministry of Health, Welfare 
and family Affairs said Korea can still restrict reentry for 
HIV-positive individuals that have been deemed a threat to public 
health.   In an interview with Expat Living, a Ministry of Justice 
official said foreigners already residing in the country can still 
be tested for HIV, and added, "originally, we deported foreigners 
who tested positive for HIV.  And they were not allowed to reenter 
Korea.  But in light of the January 1 announcement... if foreigners 
who work here test positive, we would not immediately deport them," 
the Ministry official said.  "But as for foreigners who are judged 
by local medical centers as highly dangerous, we will impose 
restrictions on them."  As for how someone who is HIV positive is 
judged to be "dangerous," the Justice Ministry official demurred. 
That determination is made by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and 
Family Affairs, he said. 
 
 
SEOUL 00000092  005 OF 005 
 
 
More Koreans Smoke 
------------------ 
 
¶15.  The Ministry for Health and Welfare Affairs recently said that 
the smoking rate for Korean people aged 19 or older increased by one 
percentage point, to 23.3 percent in 2009.  The ministry surveyed 
3,000 people by phone across the nation. The rate for males 
increased from 40.9 percent to 43.1 percent, and the rate for 
females decreased from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent.  Asked what 
caused them to smoke, 59.1 percent of all smokers said they smoke 
because it is a habit and 32.6 percent pointed to stress.   In 
response to the rising smoking rate, the ministry plans to intensify 
anti-smoking efforts by designating more parks, hospitals, and other 
public facilities as smoking-prohibited areas.  A Korean Development 
Institute study, meanwhile, found that indoor smoking prohibitions 
introduced in 2003 reduced the number of cigarettes smoked per day 
by 16 percent for the average smoker. 
 
------- 
Profile 
------- 
 
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience 
and Biotechnology 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶16.  Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology 
(KRIBB), founded in 1985,   is the only Korean government research 
institute dedicated to biotechnology research across the full span 
of biological subject areas from basic studies on the fundamental 
phenomena of life to applied studies such as new drug discovery, 
novel biomaterials, and bio-information.   Currently KRIBB has more 
than 1,000 full-time employees, including about 330 Ph.D. degree 
holders. 
 
¶17.  In June 2004, KRIBB established a joint collaboration center at 
its compound in partnership with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research 
Center (FHCRC) of the United States to develop biomarkers for early 
detection liver and stomach cancer.  KRIBB and the FHCRC also teamed 
up with research institutes in Singapore, Taiwan, and China to 
launch the International Cancer Biomarker Consortium.  KRIBB also 
has joint research programs with the University of Washington to 
develop platform technology for T cell therapy.  Also, in June 2007 
KRIBB formed a strategic alliance with Pfizer, under which KRIBB and 
Pfizer will undertake joint research projects to screen chemical 
compounds with the potential to control the NK immune cell and to 
identify suitable molecular targets for new liver and stomach cancer 
drugs. 
 
¶18.  Since its foundation in 1985, KRIBB researchers average over 
300 published articles a year and have registered almost 400 patents 
at home and abroad.  Recent efforts in commercialization have spun 
off over 80 venture companies and have successfully commercialized 
several discoveries. 
 
STEPHENS