"Offshore wind is not a business that takes away residents' livelihoods, but can become a shared future for the region built together with residents."
A new milestone for domestic offshore wind has been established in Jeju waters. The Hanlim offshore wind farm, which entered commercial operation in 2025, is being evaluated not merely as the largest offshore wind complex in the country, but as the first case to simultaneously realize resident participation, domestic technology, and a publicly led development model. When compared with Yokji-do in Tongyeong, where conflicts over offshore wind continue to recur, Hanlim offers an important answer to the question of what is different.
A New Milestone for Domestic Offshore Wind
The Hanlim offshore wind farm is the largest commercial offshore wind complex in the country, built in waters west of Hanlim-eup in Jeju.
The project was jointly pursued by KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation), KOMIPO (Korea Midland Power), and Korea Electric Power Technology as a publicly led initiative. Its significance lies in the fact that domestic companies participated in design, manufacturing, and construction to complete it with 100 percent domestic technology.
Until now, most domestic offshore wind projects have relied on overseas equipment and foreign technology. However, the Hanlim project demonstrated the competitiveness of South Korea's offshore wind industry as domestic companies performed core wind industry technologies.
This is being evaluated not simply as the construction of a single power plant that generates electricity, but as the starting point for building a domestic offshore wind industry ecosystem that extends from design and manufacturing through installation and operation.
The Biggest Change: Residents Became Project Stakeholders
The most notable aspect of the Hanlim offshore wind farm lies not in generation capacity but in the method of resident participation.
In the early stages of the project, there were considerable concerns in Jeju about fishing damage and landscape degradation. However, throughout the project implementation process, resident briefings, opinion gathering, and compensation negotiations were conducted continuously. Most importantly, a structure was created that allowed residents to participate directly in the project.
Approximately 1,000 residents participated in a resident participation fund, becoming joint investors in the project, and a structure was created to share power generation profits together. Residents began to perceive offshore wind not as someone else's project but as their own village's project.
This demonstrated the possibility that offshore wind could bring new income and opportunities to the local community instead of conflict.
Communication Reduced Conflict
Another notable success factor in the Hanlim case is sufficient communication.
Before installing the turbines, the developer held continuous briefings for residents and fishers and disclosed anticipated impacts. Trust was built by discussing investigations into fishing damage and compensation measures together.
Most importantly, the process of reflecting resident opinions in the project plan, rather than simply listening to them, continued.
Given that much of the conflict over offshore wind stems from insufficient information and distrust rather than the turbines themselves, the Hanlim case demonstrates how important it is to design together with residents from the initial stages of a project.
The Significance of 100 Percent Domestic Technology
The Hanlim offshore wind farm carries great symbolic weight technologically.
As domestic companies participated in design, manufacturing, and construction, the possibility of technological self-sufficiency in South Korea's offshore wind was confirmed.
This does not stop at erecting a single turbine.
It ripples across diverse industries including wind equipment manufacturing, marine plants, specialized vessels, submarine cables, maintenance and repair operations, and port logistics, and can provide new growth drivers for the regional economy.
This is why the government seeks to nurture offshore wind as a future strategic industry.
What Sets Tongyeong Apart
Currently, in the waters off Yokji-do in Tongyeong, resistance from fishers continues over a large-scale offshore wind project.
Fishers are concerned about damage to prime fishing grounds and threats to their livelihoods, while the developer emphasizes carbon neutrality and national energy policy.
The biggest reason the two sides are at an impasse is a lack of trust about who will benefit from the project.
By contrast, Hanlim substantially reduced conflict by having residents participate as stakeholders and investors in the project.
This can be seen as the result of recognizing residents not as targets for persuasion but as partners in the project.
Three Lessons for Tongyeong
The Jeju Hanlim case offers three important lessons for Tongyeong.
First, resident participation is not optional but essential. When a structure is in place to share power generation profits with the region, resident acceptance can increase.
Second, sufficient communication reduces conflict. Rather than confirming a project plan and then explaining it, a process of discussing it with residents from the initial stages is necessary.
Third, offshore wind must be connected to regional industry. True economic benefits can be achieved only when the project extends beyond turbine installation to link port, shipbuilding, maintenance, and equipment manufacturing industries with the regional economy.
The Success of Offshore Wind Depends on Regional Consent
Jeju Hanlim is the first case demonstrating that offshore wind can coexist with local communities.
Of course, conditions in Jeju and Tongyeong differ. Fishing ground size, fishing methods, and resident composition are all different. Therefore, the Hanlim model cannot be applied as is.
But one thing is clear: the success or failure of offshore wind depends not on the number of turbines but on how much residents become the owners of the project.
Tongyeong too must move beyond conflict and confrontation to create a model of coexistence in order to address both carbon neutrality and regional economic revitalization together.
The answer shown by Jeju Hanlim was not simply an offshore wind power plant, but a new development approach that designs the future together with residents.
KWI developer profile — KEPCO
4 projects in Korea totalling 1,310 MW. Compiled from the KWI database. Not part of the source article.
Hanlim Offshore Wind — this article
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Southwest Offshore Wind Phase 2
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Sinan 1 Offshore Wind
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Sinan 2 Offshore Wind
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Project data: KWI database — Electricity Business Licence records, EIA filings (ME2021C006), Electricity Regulatory Commission minutes, and pre-EBL permit filings.
Original Korean article: Tongyeong Newspaper
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
