The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Sungwhan) announced that on the afternoon of August 6, Vice Minister Kum Hanseung will hold an inspection meeting at the Ministry’s conference room in the Government Complex Sejong with local governments (17 cities and provinces) and the Korea Environment Corporation to review the execution status of electric vehicle (EV) subsidies and discuss improvement measures for the smooth implementation of the 2025 EV supply project.

The domestic EV market experienced a temporary stagnation in demand (EV chasm) and incidents of fires in 2023-2024, leading to a slowdown. However, signs of recovery and expanded adoption are emerging in 2025. Accordingly, this meeting was organized to ensure the smooth execution of EV subsidies, secure momentum for the transition to EVs, and further accelerate the trend of widespread adoption.

* As of July 2024, 80,620 units were registered → approximately a 47% increase compared to the same period last year.

This meeting will discuss issues raised during the implementation of the EV supply project, including: execution status by local governments; insufficient local budget allocation and regional disparities in subsidy distribution; plans for early execution of electric bus subsidies; and issues related to local government settlements. In addition, discussions will be held on cooperation measures between the central and local governments for the smooth implementation of the remaining 2025 supply project, along with hearing difficulties encountered during subsidy execution.

Based on the results of this meeting, the Ministry plans to reallocate subsidies by local government and vehicle type, prioritizing regions with concentrated demand, and to reflect improvements in the revised subsidy guidelines for the following year. In addition, local governments will consider additional local budget allocations to ensure more EV consumers can benefit from the subsidies. 

Vice Minister Kum stated, “Support policies, including subsidies, are extremely important for achieving carbon neutrality and building a sustainable domestic EV industry ecosystem.” He added, “The government and local governments will work together to improve subsidy execution and smoothly implement the 2025 EV supply project, thereby securing momentum and accelerating the adoption of EVs in Korea.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com