Public Agencies Obligated to Cut Energy Use by 10%, But Not the Courts and the Presidential Office

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks on current issues on his way to work at the Office of the President in Yongsan, Seoul on the morning of October 24. Yonhap News

The government has enforced a 10% energy reduction plan, which restricts the temperature in government buildings to 17°C when providing indoor heating, but constitutional institutions, such as the National Assembly, courts, the Constitutional Court, and the National Election Commission, and the Office of the President, an administrative office, were excluded from the mandatory measure stirring controversy. The government explained that the Office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister were not subject to the plan, but were still taking action to reduce the amount of energy they used. Reportedly, a bill restricting the indoor temperature of constitutional institutions was never enacted because of a possible violation of the separation of powers.

According to the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yang-Yi Won-young on October 24, 500 constitutional institutions including the National Assembly, courts, the Constitutional Court, and the National Election Commission, as well as the Office of the President, which is an administrative agency, were excluded from a notice restricting the use of energy in public agencies. The Public Agency Energy Use Efficiency Program was first enforced in 1996 according to the instructions of the prime minister. Later, the Energy Use Rationalization Act was revised in 2007, providing the legal grounds. Nearly 25,000 institutions, such as administrative agencies, local governments, the metropolitan and provincial offices of education, public agencies (central and local), national universities and hospitals, and elementary, middle and high schools were obligated to take measures for the efficient use of energy and for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently restricted the average indoor temperature to 17°C when operating heating facilities inside a public building since October 18 to overcome the energy crisis. Workers in these public buildings are banned from using personal heating devices during working hours, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In 2017, a bill was proposed in the twentieth National Assembly making constitutional institutions subject to the energy restrictions just like other public agencies, but lawmakers failed to enact the bill claiming it ran counter to the separation of powers. Lawmaker Yang-Yi said, “The energy use efficiency plan places a duty on public agencies and public workplaces, such as the National Court Administration and the National Assembly Secretariat, which manage the buildings,” and pointed out, “It has nothing to do with the violation of the separation of powers or the legislative and judicial powers.”

According to the information that lawmaker Yang-Yi received from constitutional institutions like the National Assembly, last year, the courts used 104GWh of electricity, nearly twice the average used in public agencies (54GWh). The courts and the National Assembly emitted 71,052 tons and 20,989 tons of greenhouse gases respectively, which was 15 times and 4 times the average of public agencies.

Meanwhile, the Energy Ministry explained, “Given the gravity of the energy crisis, we have asked the National Assembly and the courts for their cooperation in reducing the use of energy.” They also said, “We understand that the offices of the president and the prime minister are also reducing the use of energy by restricting indoor temperatures to 17°C like other public agencies and turning off 30% or more of indoor lighting and 50% or more during peak energy consumption hours.”