A Study on the Hydrogen Economic Law for the Realization of Hydrogen Society in Korea

The South Korean government aims for a hydrogen economy society focusing on hydrogen-powered cars and fuel cells. The purpose of this study is to provide directions for better legislation to support the hydrogen economy roadmap. South Korea's hydrogen industry, which has strengths in hydrogen car and fuel cell technology, draws the attention of the world. Korean legislative trends are also important to other countries for international cooperation, including export, investment, and joint research of related industrial groups. A roadmap to revitalize the hydrogen economy was announced in January 2019. The Act on the Hydrogen Economy, the Act on the Promotion of Hydrogen Industries, and the Act on the Safety of Hydrogen are all pending in the National Assembly. It was difficult to take a systematic response because projects for hydrogen car supply and charging infrastructure were distributed among several agencies. The purpose of legislation is desirable for a systematic response to the hydrogen economy society by enacting the Integrated Hydrogen Economic Act. The Korean government includes hydrogen in the category of climate change technologies. Therefore, the Act on Development of Hydrogen Industries should also be linked to the 'Basic Plan for Climate Change Response'. In other words, the basic energy plan and climate change plan should be considered together in order to foster the hydrogen industry, which is currently one of the key national policies. The Hydrogen Safety Management and Business Act is the most important law in the hydrogen economy. There should also be safety standards regarding hydrogen. The current bills do not contain all hydrogen-related facilities. Facilities that manufacture, charge, and store hydrogen at high pressure are required to comply with standards in accordance with the “High Pressure Gas Safety Management Act.” Safety standards are insufficient for facilities that manufacture, charge, store, sell, or use hydrogen at low pressure. In addition, safety standards were not provided for fuel cells which use hydrogen directly. The Safety Management and Business Act of Hydrogen Fuel was designed to promote the supply and utilization of hydrogen by securing public safety. In addition, systematic support for R&D is also needed for the continuation of the hydrogen economy. Of the hydrogen R&D projects, it is also necessary for South Korea to draw out technical areas that can be effective through investment and to foster them intensively. It will also need technological exchanges and cooperation in safety management know-how with the United States. In particular, research and benchmarking on the hydrogen and fuel cell-related acts of the US will also be needed.