Issue Korea's heat pump drive: targets of 690,000 units by 2030 and 3.5 million by 2035 to move heating away from city gas

Summary

Korean law currently requires city gas supply facilities in new housing, but the government's December 2025 heat pump promotion policy sets the goal of shifting heating from city gas and other fossil fuels to heat pumps. The policy phases down fossil fuel subsidy programmes and gives priority to areas that city gas networks do not yet reach. A draft heat energy innovation strategy issued by the climate ministry in April 2026 then set targets of 690,000 high-efficiency heat pumps by 2030 and 3.5 million by 2035. The government also plans to require new district energy licences to rely on heat pumps and unused heat for baseload and to minimise LNG capacity. The institute expects these measures to affect, over the medium to long term, even gas demand for power generation.