Policy & Legal Framework
Permits & Licensing
The permit sequence stage by stage, each authorization with its statute, responsible body and a link to the law.
The permit pathway
7 stages · 16 authorizationsOutside the one stop route, a project still clears authorizations one law at a time. This page sets out 16 of them across 7 stages: Wind Measurement, Electricity Business License (EBL), Environmental Assessment, Site Investigation, Public-Waters Use & Navigation Safety, Cross-sector Consents, Construction & Operation. Each stage sits under a different statute and a different ministry, which is why the sequence rather than any single permit decides how long development takes.
Risk concentrates in three of them: Electricity Business License (EBL), Environmental Assessment, Public-Waters Use & Navigation Safety. The first offshore permit, public waters occupancy for a measurement mast, has averaged about 484 days against a 98 day statutory target, and a 2023 notice limited that permit to three years with an obligation to apply for the EBL within that window.
- Stage 1Wind Measurement2 authorizations
- Stage 2Electricity Business License (EBL)1 authorization
- Stage 3Environmental Assessment2 authorizations
- Stage 4Site Investigation2 authorizations
- Stage 5Public-Waters Use & Navigation Safety2 authorizations
- Stage 6Cross-sector Consents5 authorizations
- Stage 7Construction & Operation2 authorizations
Stages where risk concentrates: the EBL, environmental assessment, and public waters use and navigation safety.
The one-stop alternative · Special Act
Implementation-Plan Approval
Obtained after site investigation and basic design, a single implementation-plan approval under the Special Act bundles roughly 28 statutory authorizations, the EBL, public-waters occupancy and more, into one consolidated review for projects within a designated development zone. It is the pivotal shift from the legacy permit-by-permit sequence mapped above.
Ministry of Climate, Energy & Environment · Offshore Wind Special Act ›
~28
authorizations consolidated into one approval
Entries
| Stage | Document | Source / agency | Korean original Free members | English translation Premium members |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Public-Waters Occupancy Permit: Met Mast공유수면 점사용허가: 계측기Governed by Public Waters Management and Reclamation ActPermit to occupy and use public waters to install the offshore wind-measurement mast (met mast): the first offshore permit and a lengthy one (averaging ~484 days against the 98-day statutory target). The occupancy permit can be renewed repeatedly. | Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries / local government | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 1 | Met-Mast Rules & 3-Year Validity계측기 규정 및 3년 유효기간Governed by Notice on Detailed Criteria for Electricity Business PermitsSince August 2023 this Notice recognises only offshore (not onshore) met masts for offshore-wind permits and sets a three-year validity: the developer must apply for the Electricity Business License within three years of the met-mast permit. With tighter capital and construction-period rules, it was introduced to curb reckless applications and met-mast squatting ahead of the Special Act's planned-siting regime; the Special Act then barred new met-mast public-waters permits outside planned zones. | Ministry of Climate, Energy & Environment / Korea Energy Agency | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 2 | Electricity Business License (EBL)발전사업허가(EBL)Governed by Electric Utility ActThe foundational licence for pursuing generation-business development at the project site, granted by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment after deliberation by the Electricity Regulatory Commission, or by the Mayor/Do Governor, and tracked as the anchor permit in KWI's project pipeline. | Ministry of Climate, Energy & Environment (after Electricity Regulatory Commission deliberation) or Mayor/Do Governor | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 3 | Environmental Impact Assessment환경영향평가Governed by Environmental Impact Assessment ActA draft consultation followed by a main consultation, covering marine ecology, fisheries and coastal impacts. | Ministry of Climate, Energy & Environment | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 3 | Marine Use Consultation & Impact Assessment해양이용협의 및 영향평가Governed by Marine Use Impact Assessment ActA pre-emptive marine-environment review (marine use consultation, scaled by project size up to a full impact assessment) that a project must clear before each public-waters occupancy permit and before the EIA consultation. Split out of the Marine Environment Management Act into the new Marine Use Impact Assessment Act (effective January 2025), with offshore-wind-specific review guidelines; can be merged into a single environmental review under the Special Act. | Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 4 | Geotechnical Survey (GT): Occupancy & Work Plan지반조사(GT): 점사용 및 공사계획Governed by Public Waters Management and Reclamation ActIntrusive geotechnical surveys (boreholes, CPT) disturb the seabed and require a public-waters occupancy/use permit and its implementation (work) plan: from the local government in general (territorial) waters, and from the regional Oceans & Fisheries office in the EEZ. Onshore boreholes along the cable route need a separate local-government permit. Geotechnical survey is one of the three public-waters occupancy permits a developer must obtain; it supplies the EIA baseline data and the project's basic design. | Local government (territorial waters) / regional Oceans & Fisheries office (EEZ) | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 4 | Geophysical Survey (GP)물리탐사(GP)Governed by Public Waters Management and Reclamation ActNon-intrusive geophysical surveys such as sub-bottom profiling, seismic reflection and side-scan sonar. For a Korean developer, the permission and consent procedures of the Marine Scientific Research Act do not apply: they cover research by foreigners and international organizations (Articles 6 and 7), and Article 20 guarantees that nationals may freely conduct marine scientific research. If the work dredges or excavates the seabed, permission to occupy or use public waters is required under Article 8 (1) 3 of the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act. | No separate permit for a Korean developer (public waters management agency if the seabed is excavated) | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 5 | Public-Waters Occupancy Permit: Project공유수면 점사용허가: 사업Governed by Public Waters Management and Reclamation ActOccupancy and use permit for the turbines, submarine cables and structures of the constructed project (distinct from the earlier survey permit). | Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 5 | Maritime Traffic Safety Audit해상교통안전진단Governed by Maritime Traffic Safety ActAssessment of the wind farm's impact on vessel navigation and maritime traffic safety. | Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 6 | Development-Activity Permit개발행위허가Governed by National Land Planning and Utilization ActDevelopment-activity permit for onshore works: the grid-connection substation, cable landing point and access roads. | Local government | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 6 | Military Installations Consultation군사시설 협의Governed by Protection of Military Bases and Installations ActConsultation where the site or its radar footprint overlaps a military protection zone. | Ministry of National Defense | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 6 | Radio-Station Permit무선국 개설허가Governed by Radio Waves ActRadio-station permits for site communications: a person who intends to establish a radio station must obtain authorization from the Minister of Science and ICT under Article 19 of the Radio Waves Act. The Act has no provision specific to wind-turbine interference with radar. Its Article 52 requires the Minister's approval only for structures likely to disturb radio waves within one kilometre of a radio direction finder; effects on military operations are handled through the military consultation stage. | Ministry of Science and ICT | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 6 | National Heritage Impact Diagnosis국가유산영향진단Governed by National Heritage Impact Diagnosis ActBefore completing its project plan, the implementer of a construction project must carry out a national heritage impact diagnosis under Article 9 (1) of the National Heritage Impact Diagnosis Act (in force 14 February 2025). Under Article 5 (1) 3 of its Enforcement Decree, this covers construction works of 30,000 square metres or more carried out in coastal areas under the Coastal Management Act, and the Act also covers works in areas where buried heritage exists. The developer's ground-surface survey article of the Buried Heritage Act was deleted, and that Act now gives the new Act priority for development projects. | Korea Heritage Service | Source ↗ | Translation in preparation |
| Stage 6 | Forest & Farmland Conversion산지·농지 전용Governed by Mountain Districts Management ActConversion permits where onshore transmission works cross forest land or farmland. | Korea Forest Service / local government | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 7 | Construction-Plan Authorization공사계획 인가Governed by Electric Utility ActAuthorization of the construction plan before building the generation and transmission facilities. | Ministry of Climate, Energy & Environment | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |
| Stage 7 | Pre-Use Inspection사용 전 검사Governed by Electric Utility ActInspection certifying the completed facilities are safe to operate: the final gate before commercial operation (COD). | Permitting authority (inspection entrusted to Korea Electrical Safety Corporation) | Source ↗ | EN translation · PDF |