S. Korea delays SAF roadmap: reports
The South Korean government has reportedly delayed introduction of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate by two years citing the lack of preparedness of domestic capacity to produce and supply the fuel, according to reports published by the domestic media.
Reports show that the government is likely to delay the mandate to 2027 after industry players showed concern that time for preparation was too short.
Initial plans for the mandate were due to be announced this month, however, they have now been delayed till the last quarter of 2025 due to early presidential elections and ministerial changes.
The reports showed that the government is establishing a public-private joint SAF mixed obligation system task force to prepare measures to activate SAF. About 20 organizations, including domestic oil refining and aviation industries, the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and the Korea Energy Economics Institute, are participating.
The roadmap is expected to include incentive measures for SAF facilities and companies using them.
Currently, no South Korean refiner is producing SAF. Since adding SAF production portfolio would require significant investment, companies are unwilling to commit those funds due to poor oil refining market conditions.
The government has proposed a tax credit of up to 15% for investment in SAF production facilities and a reduction in airport facility usage fees at Incheon International Airport. The industry believes that additional support measures are necessary.
Oil refineries claim that they need policy financing for diversification of raw material imports and SAF production-only facilities. Airlines also claim that additional incentives are necessary because they have to use SAF, which is 3-5 times more expensive than existing aviation fuel.
It is worth mentioning that here that earlier in April of this year, the South Korea’s Incheon Airport announced KRW100m ($70,000) for international flights fuels with domestically-produced SAF for a period of one year starting from January 1st, 2025 to December 31, 2025.
Eligibility criteria shared by the airport said that flights that use more than 1% of SAF will be incentivized.