South Korea is home to the world’s largest zinc smelter, the Korea Zinc-owned Onsan smelter. The contributions from this smelter make South Korea the second-largest global supplier of finished zinc.
In 2022
AME forecasts South Korea to produce 918kt of finished zinc, a 1.5% increase
from 2021 and equating to 6.8% of the global supply. Supply is forecast to
remain stable at 918kt in 2023 before increasing by 3.4% in 2024 to 949kt.

As South
Korea does not mine zinc domestically all concentrates to feed smelters are
imported. South Korea has a highly stable and mature economy and a healthy
import market which is not expected to change in the short to medium-term.
South Korea imports nearly 1Mt of zinc in concentrates every year, with import
rates remaining relatively steady over the past two years. Zinc concentrate
imports are sourced primarily from Australia and Peru, the world’s largest zinc
concentrate producers, with South Korean companies holding direct investments in
mining in these countries.
Smelting
capacity is expected to rise in the long-term to reach 1.5Mt by 2040 as
efficiency improvements are made to existing sites, AME expects imports to
increase to match smelter demand.
India is set to overtake South Korea as the
second-largest global finished zinc supplier in the long-term, with
expectations for its huge anticipated growth far outshining modest improvement
plans and additional capacity coming from South Korea.

South Korean
Green Ambition
At
COP26 South Korea announced an updated NDC which was submitted to the UNFCCC in
December 2021. In this updated NDC South Korea committed to reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2018 levels of 715.51MtCO2e.
South
Korea also plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To help achieve
these goals in August 2021 the Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Act for the
Climate Change Bill was passed. The law entered force on March 25, 2022.
In
2021 South Korea emitted 679MtCO2eq an increase of 3.5% from 2020. This
followed a drop of 6.2% in 2020 following Covid-19 lockdowns.
To
meet their emission reduction plans, the previously coal-reliant country is
relying on transitioning to clean energy sources. The South Korean government
announced its ambition to grow renewable energy capacity 60GW by 2034, with
12GW of this is aimed to be offshore wind by 2030.
The country also aims to
achieve a 30% share of renewables in its energy production mix by 2030. The 2021 Renewable Energy Law requires all
major electricity utilities to increase the share of their renewables from 10%
to 25% by 2034.
The
South Korean government also announced an
updated Korean New Deal 2.0, with an increased budget of KRW 220tn
(US$167bn). The five-year development strategy aims to promote digitalisation,
accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, and strengthen the social
safety net. It will bolster the country’s economic recovery and boost zinc
demand. The government has allocated around US$52bn to its emissions reduction
policies.
Korea Zinc Dominantion
Korea
Zinc ranks as the top global producer of finished zinc globally, they overtook
Nyrstar and Glencore, who have both been widely impacted by the rising energy costs
in Europe, to become the world’s largest finished zinc producer in 2021, and
they look set to remain at the top.
AME
forecasts Korea Zinc will produce 1.1Mt of finished zinc in 2022, up 3.6% on year.
Korea Zinc’s production profile is set to remain stable in the long-term out to
2040 at 1.1-1.2Mt with no capacity expansion projects or zinc smelter
acquisitions currently announced.
Korea
Zinc owns the world’s largest smelter, the Onsan smelter, located in the North
Gyeongsang Province. The Onsan refinery in 2022 is forecast to produce 650kt of
finished zinc, 4.8% of global supply.
Korea
Zinc is also expanding into the recycled zinc market, it owns the Korean
Recycling Plant in the Cheonbuk Industrial Complex under its subsidiary Zinc
Oxide Corporation, taking ownership in 2017. The plant recycles electric arc
furnace dust (EAFD) to produce approximately 62ktpa of zinc.
The
modest growth forecast for the company will be the result of continued maintenance
of existing smelting capacity and the gradual expansion and efficiency gains in
existing plants rather than of any significant new capacity investments.
Korea
Zinc also operates a zinc smelter in Townsville, Australia, through its
subsidiary Sun Metals Corporation. In 2020 Sun Metals joined RE100, with Korea
Zinc following in 2021. RE100 is a global initiative that promises to convert
100% of the electricity used by the world's most influential companies to
renewable energy in all their business sites.
Sun
Metals is pushing to significantly increase the use of renewable energy through
its new and renewable energy business of Ark Energy, which was newly
established by Korea Zinc in February, 2021.
Ark Energy recently announced a
923-megawatt (MW) wind power generation project (Macintyre Wind Farm) to be
built in Queensland which has become the driving force for Korea Zinc's new and
renewable energy business.
Korea Zinc plans to achieve 100% Green Zinc through
0% net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by aggressively expanding its eco-friendly
portfolio including renewable energy projects and green hydrogen energy
business. In 2021 Korea Zinc had 1.9MtCO2eq scope 1 emissions and 1.6MtCO2eq
scope 2 emissions.
Recycled Zinc
Outside of
Korea Zinc and its affiliated companies production in South Korea is limited to
recycled zinc which is headed by Befesa. Befesa is a global leader in the recycling
of hazardous waste materials produced by the steel and aluminium industries.
Befesa
entered the market in South Korea in 2012 with the acquisition of the Korean
Hankook. Increased environmental regulation for hazardous waste introduced in
South Korea in 2012 created new opportunities for Befesa and by 2016 they had
doubled capacity to 220kt at the Gyeongju crude steel dust recycling site which
produces around 50ktpa of zinc.
In 2019 Befesa opened the Pohang WOX washing
steel dust recycling site which has capacity to recycle 60tkpa and produces
around 20ktpa of zinc.
Befesa had
total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 797ktCO2e in 2021. Befesa is aiming to
reduce GHG emission intensity by 20% by 2030 and achieve net-zero in 2050.
All
Befesa plants have implemented and certified the measurement of GHG emissions
in line with ISO14064 for GHG emissions. To help meet emissions targets Befesa
applies ‘Best Available Technology’ (BAT) for energy efficiency.
