Leaving Someone Behind: Coal Phase-Out in South Korea

41 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2025 Last revised: 31 Mar 2025

See all articles by Sehoon Kim

Sehoon Kim

KDI School of Public Policy and Management

Yeong Jae Kim

KDI School of Public Policy and Management; RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy

Changkeun Lee

KDI School of Public Policy and Management

Jinseong Park

KDI School of Public Policy and Management

Sunjoo Park

KDI School of Public Policy and Management - KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Students

Date Written: March 27, 2025

Abstract

This study estimates the effect of coal power plant phase-out on employment in South Korea. We employ difference-indifference estimators to infer causality. We find that the phase-out does not affect displaced workers at coal power plants in Seocheon. However, the changes had an unequal impact across industries. We also find a decrease in female and less educated manufacturing workers and an increase in male construction workers. These ripple effects highlight the winners and losers of the coal phase-out in Seocheon. The policy must be inclusive to ensure that no one is left behind.

Keywords: Coal phase-out, Employment, South Korea

JEL Classification: Q4, L1, L5, H4

Suggested Citation

Kim, Sehoon and Kim, Yeong Jae and Lee, Changkeun and Park, Jinseong and Park, Sunjoo, Leaving Someone Behind: Coal Phase-Out in South Korea (March 27, 2025). KDI School of Pub Policy & Management Paper No. DS2025-02, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5195619 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5195619

Sehoon Kim

KDI School of Public Policy and Management ( email )

Yeong Jae Kim (Contact Author)

KDI School of Public Policy and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 184
Seoul, 130-868
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy ( email )

Via Bergognone, 34
Milan, 20144
Italy

Changkeun Lee

KDI School of Public Policy and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 184
Seoul, 130-868
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

Jinseong Park

KDI School of Public Policy and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 184
Seoul, 130-868
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

Sunjoo Park

KDI School of Public Policy and Management - KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Students ( email )

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