Taean County Governor Yoon Hee-shin Draws a Line on Offshore Wind: "No Approval Without Community Acceptance"
As Taean County Governor Yoon Hee-shin marked his first 100 days in office, he made clear his position on the large-scale offshore wind projects pursued by his predecessor: "I will not approve them without community acceptance." This stance aligns with the principle of prioritizing community acceptance that he announced at a press briefing on October 7, and attention is now focused on how it will actually be applied in the ongoing administrative procedures for the 504 megawatt public water surface use and occupancy licence and the 1.4 gigawatt offshore wind integrated zone (OWIZ) development.
In particular, Governor Yoon stated that he cannot support the advancement of offshore wind projects that lack secured community acceptance.
This can be interpreted as a policy position to re-evaluate the Taean offshore wind projects pursued by the previous administration not by unconditionally inheriting them, but by using resident opinion and licensing requirements as the benchmark.
However, whether this statement will translate into actual changes in county administration is a separate matter. Currently, the public water surface use and occupancy licence procedure for the 504 megawatt Taean offshore wind project is underway in waters off Taean County, and the 1.4 gigawatt OWIZ also faces major issues including military operational coordination and community acceptance.
How the community acceptance principle announced by Governor Yoon will actually be applied to the project plan and licensing process has emerged as an important verification task for the ninth-term energy policy.
Previous Administration's Offshore Wind Policy Faces New Evaluation Standards
Taean offshore wind is a large-scale energy development project pursued over an extended period by the previous administration under Governor Ga Se-ro.
Since 2021, Taean County has pursued public-led large-scale offshore wind zone development support projects while conducting community acceptance surveys, marine environment reviews, military operational coordination discussions, and applications for OWIZ designation.
The related projects are understood to have received support funding of approximately 4.35 billion won, including national and local government budgets.
On August 31, 2023, the public-private consultative body passed resolutions on OWIZ designation application and benefit-sharing plans. On October 15, 2025, an application for OWIZ designation of approximately 1.4 gigawatt capacity was submitted.
However, throughout the promotion process, controversies have continued over whether the actual fishing communities operating in the project waters were accurately identified, which fishing industry organizations participated in the community acceptance survey, and to what extent military operational concerns were resolved.
In particular, fishing grounds 162 and 163 are waters where fishing vessels operate, and the impact of offshore wind facilities and submarine cable installation on existing fishing activities cannot be determined by simple signatures of support or opposition alone.
