Anchor: The government plans to invest 19 trillion won in new energy industries by 2030. It will select key tasks in the residential, electric, transportation and industrial sectors to nurture as new-growth engines.
Our Kim In-kyung has more on the plan, which places a large focus on electric vehicles.
 
Report: The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a forum on climate change Monday and announced the nation's mid-term energy strategy.
 
A major part of the plan involves popularizing electric cars.
 
There are currently some two-thousand-200 electric cars on the southern resort island of Jeju, mostly owned by rental companies and government offices. 
 
By 2030, the trade ministry hopes to convert all 370-thousand cars operated in Jeju to electric vehicles (EV). Deputy minister of energy and resources policy Chung Yang-ho says Jeju island will become a model case for electric cars.
 
[Sound bite: Deputy Minister Chung Yang-ho - Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Korean)]
"(We will) create an environment (in Jeju) where users of electric cars won't have to worry about recharging."
 
The government also plans to replace all 33-thousand intra-city buses around the nation to electric vehicles by 2030. By doing so, the trade ministry says it will open an era of one-million EVs in the nation in 15 years.
 
 The key to reaching its goals, however, is technology. Domestic EVs currently run 150 kilometers on a single charge, but some global companies have already developed cars that cover 300 kilometers with one charge.
 
In a speech read by Vice Trade Minister Moon Jae-do at the forum, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn stressed the importance of nurturing new energy industries.
 
[Sound bite: Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Jae-do, reading a speech by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Korean)]
"We have to pursue a reduction of greenhouse gases, centered on the market, technology and enterprises. We must also seek creative ways to reduce greenhouse gases and create jobs at the same time.
 
The government hopes the new energy industry plan will create 50-thousand jobs and reduce 55-million tons of greenhouses gases by 2030.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.