BLOG: South Korea petrochemicals: Challenges and opportunities

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Click here to see the latest blog post on Asian Chemical Connections by John Richardson: South Korea has the world’s lowest fertility rate, which is the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime. It recorded a rate of 0.72 in 2023 – down from 0.78 the previous year.

The ageing of Japan’s population is an older story, going back many more years, and has been accompanied by consolidation of its refining-petrochemicals industries.

Will South Korea head down the same path as it also faces the challenges of declining Chinese demand growth and increasing Chinese petrochemicals self-sufficiency?

Not necessarily because of the opportunities represented by the sustainability transition. South Korea needs to substantially boost its circular and lower-carbon petrochemical capabilities.

South Korea was the world’s poorest country immediately after the 1950-1953 Korean War.

By nominal GDP, the South Korean economy was worth (won) W2.24 quadrillion ($1.72 trillion) in 2023. It is the fourth-largest economy in Asia and the 14th largest in the world as of 2024.

So why not another “economic miracle” (more like lots of hard work and initiative) via sustainable energy, refining and petrochemicals?  South Korea’s history clearly shows that this can be done.

Editor’s note: This blog post is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of ICIS.