On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, the Industry, Resources, and Agriculture and Fisheries Team of the Economy and Industry Research Office at the National Assembly Research Service (Chief Kwan Hu, Lee) held an expert meeting on the "Plan for Governmental Restructuring to Implement Carbon Neutrality" in the NARS Seminar Room 3. With officials from the NARS, the National Assembly Futures Institute, the Speaker's Office, and the National Assembly Budget Office, Lee Yoo-jin, Director of the Institute for Green Transformation, delivered a keynote presentation and discussed plans for governmental reorganization to achieve carbon neutrality goals.

Director Lee diagnosed the reasons why past climate crisis response policies have failed to achieve their intended results, arguing that the current governance structure is inadequate for tackling the climate crisis. She asserted the need for a governmental overhaul that integrates climate and energy transition efforts. She emphasized the need to integrate the climate and carbon policies of the Ministry of Environment with the industry, trade, and energy policies of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, and also proposed upscaling the “Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth” to an “administrative commission” with greater authority.

The participants presented various opinions in response to Director Lee's proposals. Some expressed concern that establishing a new “Ministry of Climate and Energy” could lead to the marginalization of climate action in favor of trade and industrial interests. Others supported the idea, suggesting that moving climate responsibilities to a ministry overseeing industry and energy would be a logical step to connect climate and industrial policies.

Further points were raised, including the need to reevaluate how major countries' climate response governance is categorized, suggesting new classifications based on variables like power structures and administrative systems. Another opinion suggested that the circumstances in Korea are different from those in countries like the UK, and therefore, legislative and policy solutions must be carefully prepared to maintain and enhance economic growth and industrial competitiveness throughout the transition to a green economy, keeping in mind the differences with other countries.

With the relevant bills currently under review and deliberation by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, and ahead of the June presidential election where climate and energy pledges are likely to be a major issue, the meeting provided a valuable opportunity to explore legislative and policy options for building a better climate crisis response governance framework for the next administration.