President Trump has signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Defense to enter into new power supply agreements with coal-fired power plants. (Reuters/Yonhap News)
WASHINGTON & SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — President Donald Trump declared this week that the United States had struck “historic” trade agreements with South Korea, Japan and India to dramatically expand American coal exports, underscoring a renewed embrace of fossil fuels even as many U.S. allies move in the opposite direction.
Speaking at a White House event promoting the domestic coal industry, Mr. Trump said the United States was now exporting coal “all over the world” and described the fuel as essential to national security and industrial strength — from steelmaking and shipbuilding to artificial intelligence.
He repeatedly referred to “clean, beautiful coal” and signed executive orders directing federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to support coal-fired power plants and enter new power purchase agreements.
The remarks marked the first time Mr. Trump explicitly linked coal exports to a trade understanding with South Korea. Last July, he said Seoul had agreed to purchase $100 billion worth of U.S. liquefied natural gas and “other energy products,” a category that could include coal.
Unit 1 of Korea Western Power’s Taean coal-fired power plant, which has long been a pillar of South Korea’s electricity supply, ended its 30-year operation on Dec. 31, 2025. The turbine and smokestack of Taean Unit 1 are seen at far right. (Photo provided by Korea Western Power)
Mr. Trump also criticized the Biden administration’s closure of coal plants as “a path to ruin” and said his administration had already approved more than 70 new coal mining projects. U.S. media have reported that his administration is preparing to revoke the federal “endangerment finding,” the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet in South Korea, coal is increasingly viewed as a relic of the past.
Once the engine of the country’s rapid industrialization — the so-called “Miracle on the Han River” — coal-fired power plants are being steadily shuttered as part of a national drive toward carbon neutrality.
The government’s 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand calls for the phased closure of 39 of the nation’s 60 coal plants by 2038. President Lee Jae Myung has pledged an even more ambitious goal: a complete coal exit by 2040.
Coal once accounted for more than 40 percent of South Korea’s electricity generation at its 2018 peak. But it has also been a major source of greenhouse gases, fine dust and other pollutants. Chungcheongnam Province, home to nearly half of the country’s coal plants, has borne a disproportionate share of emissions.
A nighttime view of the Taean coal-fired power plant in South Chungcheong Province, operated by Korea Western Power. (Photo provided by Korea Western Power)
South Korea joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance in 2025 and has enacted legislation mandating steep greenhouse gas reductions by 2030. Local governments are now promoting renewable energy and hydrogen development to cushion the economic blow of plant closures.
The contrast highlights a widening divergence in energy policy. As Mr. Trump positions coal as a pillar of American industrial revival and export growth, South Korea is accelerating its transition toward cleaner energy — a shift driven by climate commitments and mounting environmental costs.
Coal, once synonymous with economic ascent, now stands at the center of a global debate over security, prosperity and the price of environmental responsibility.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
