Choi Jae-gwan, Lee's Solar Project Architect, Named Korea Energy Agency Head

The Korea Energy Agency announced on the 13th that Choi Jae-gwan, head of the Sunlight Dividend National Network, will assume the position of new chairman on the 16th. The term lasts three years.

The incoming chairman graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Agricultural Biology and previously served as Policy Committee Chairman of the National Farmers’ Federation, head of the Resident-Participatory Renewable Energy Movement Headquarters, and Agriculture and Fisheries Secretary to the President under the Moon Jae-in administration. During his tenure as chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea’s Gyeonggi Provincial Party Yeoju·Yangpyeong County Regional Committee, he was involved in designing the Gyeonggi Yeoju Guyang-ri Sunlight Income Village project, which President Lee Jae-myung cited as a model for resident-participatory solar power initiatives.

The Guyang-ri Sunlight Income Village project involves residents installing a 1-megawatt solar power facility on 2 hectares of public land and using profits from selling the generated electricity for village welfare. Last May, the incoming chairman launched the Sunlight Dividend National Network, inspired by this business model. President Lee recently referenced the Guyang-ri case during a Cabinet meeting, stating, “There is no reason not to do it; it’s just that people don’t know how.”

The incoming chairman is expected to lead the nationwide expansion of the Sunlight Income Village project, a key initiative of the Lee Jae-myung administration. On the 16th of last month, the government announced plans to establish 2,500 Sunlight Income Villages—like Guyang-ri—by 2030, a fivefold increase from the existing 500.