Lee Jae Myung says Middle East crisis "appears to be posing a major obstacle" to Korea's renewables

At a Seoul meeting Thursday with International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the Middle East crisis is complicating the country’s renewable-energy goals. The Korea Herald reported that about 70 percent of Korea’s Middle East crude passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Seoul’s climate, energy and environment ministry and the IEA signed a memorandum that day, led by Minister Kim Sung-hwan, to jointly track oil, gas and electricity supplies and build shared alerts and stockpiles. Separately, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said no decision had been made about a Hormuz deployment, while saying Korea would join international cooperation focused on the safety of its people and navigation freedom. Gallup Korea polling found 55 percent against deployment and 32 percent in favor.