The Great Retreat:
Why Global Developers Are Walking Away from Korea's Offshore Wind Market
Between 2023 and 2026, at least six major international developers have exited or significantly scaled back their Korean offshore wind ambitions. This is not merely a market cycle. It is a structural verdict.
The departures have come in waves. Shell, then BP, then Corio, then RWE — each exit followed a different path, but arrived at the same destination: out. By spring 2026, the cumulative story is impossible to ignore. Korea's offshore wind market, once a magnet for European capital and global ambition, is now being actively abandoned by the very companies it spent years courting.
Who Has Left — and What They Left Behind
The exits span every category of international capital: oil majors, asset managers, state-backed utilities, and specialist developers. What unites them is not any single grievance, but the compounding weight of too many barriers in a market that demands patience most investors no longer have.
BP entered in February 2023, acquiring 55% of Deep Wind Offshore — four projects, up to 6 GW, centred on Korea's southern coast. Less than two years later, when it formed JERA Nex BP with Japan's JERA, Korea's entire portfolio was excluded. Shell disposed of both its floating project in Ulsan (1.25 GW, to Hexicon) and its fixed-bottom rights in Yeonggwang-gun, South Jeolla (to EDF), and quietly exited. Corio shut its Korean office on 31 March 2026, with the CEO and all staff resigning en masse — taking with it the ₩1.3 trillion investment pledge made during President Yoon's UK state visit.
Entered Feb 2023 via 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore (4 projects, up to 6 GW). All Korean assets excluded from JERA Nex BP JV. Global offshore wind exit complete.
Munmu Barame 1.25 GW (Ulsan, floating) → 80% stake sold to Hexicon.
Fixed-bottom rights in Yeonggwang-gun → sold to EDF.
Both projects disposed; full Korea market exit.
CEO and all staff resigned. 4 projects (Dadaepo 96 MW, Maengoldo 600 MW, Geomundo 500 MW, Gray Whale 1.5 GW) all for sale. ₩1.3 trillion investment pledge broken.
Taean (Seohae 495 MW) rights → WP (put option retained).
Sinan (Neulsaem Ui 510 MW) rights transferred to domestic partner.
Incheon 2 GW (Hanee Baram) → EWP (put option retained).
Yokji-Jwasari: RWE retains 40% stake, continuing with Hyundai E&C.
Firefly 750 MW: won auction then failed to execute REC contract → 2-year bidding ban. Korea office downsized.
Chuja-do 3 GW: refused ₩130B/yr fixed community levy + Jeju-only grid connection → withdrew from tender.
Gray Whale 1.5 GW (Ulsan, floating) — same project listed under Corio above; Bada Energy is the joint SPC (Corio + TotalEnergies + SK Ecoplant). Corio exit triggered SPC liquidation. Generation licence to be surrendered. ₩12 trillion project stranded.
Anma offshore wind (Sinan, South Jeolla). Sale to CIP complete. However, military consultation blocking construction start — demonstrating that barriers persist even after permitting is resolved.
Dado 1,270 MW, Bobae 616 MW, Wando (early stage) — all three projects under review for full or partial sale (ION Analytics, Nov 2024). Not participating in domestic tenders.
* Note: Gray Whale 1.5 GW appears in both the Corio and BadaEnergy entries above; the same project should not be double-counted in total pipeline figures.