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Republic of Korea 2026

Republik Korea

The Republic of Korea (대한민국) enters 2027 as a high-income economy of 51.68 million people and about US$1.87 trillion of output in 2025, with one of the lowest fertility rates in the world and an ageing society. Births rose 6.7% in 2025 to about 254,300, yet total fertility stood at 0.63 in Seoul and 1.09 in Jeonnam.

Befunde
12
each with its status and source
Sectors with findings
5 of 6
Infrastructure not assessed
Risk objects
4
order carries no rank
Quellen
45
Evidence close 30 September 2026

01 · Readings

Republic of Korea in six readings.

Six readings that frame the Republic of Korea baseline, and the eight questions this edition answers, each with its status and source.

  • 51.68millionpopulation, 2025 [2]
  • 1.87US$ trillionGDP, 2025 [2]
  • 36,624US$GNI per capita, 2024 [3]
  • 254,300birthslive births, 2025 [1]
  • 40%low-carbon electricity, 2025 [5]
  • Not boundprovincial structure and ageing share [20]

02 · Sectors

Six sectors, one hexagon.

Water first, then Energy, Infrastructure, Food, Health and Biodiversity. Each count is the findings of this edition in that sector: coverage of the evidence, never a score. Infrastructure is not assessed: the edition holds no Infrastructure finding and its coupling matrix does not assess it.

  1. WATWasser1 finding

    Not bound Water supply and water-loss indicators, none. Not bound

    Supply, loss and drought indicators not bound; pipes and basins to be read in 2027.

  2. ENEEnergie1 finding

    40% Low-carbon share of electricity, 2025. Gemeldet

    Fossil fuels 60% of electricity in 2025; low-carbon 40%.

  3. INFInfrastrukturnot assessed

    Dense urban networks; condition not bound at public-safe resolution.

  4. FOOErnährung1 finding

    16.7 million t Cereal imports expected, marketing year 2026/27, 2026. Gemeldet

    Cereal imports of 16.7 million tonnes expected in 2026/27.

  5. HLTGesundheit3 findings

    0.63 births per woman Lowest regional total fertility rate, 2025. Gemeldet

    Births up 6.7% in 2025; fertility lowest in Seoul; ageing share not bound.

  6. BIOBiodiversität1 finding

    Not bound Protected-area coverage, none. Not bound

    Protected-area coverage not bound.

Outside the six sectors: Climate forcing 2, Finance 1, SEI 1, Systemic 1.

03 · Hazard exposure

The hazards this edition reads.

The edition’s own risk objects, in its order, each read across driver, exposure, vulnerability, capacity, cascade and horizon. The hexagon marks the sectors the cascade reaches; the domain beside each is an editorial reading of its hazard words.

  • RSK-KOR-SEI-001

    Induced or natural earthquake near dense industry

    GemeldetEQL 3

    Treiber
    natural or induced seismicity
    Exposition
    industrial and urban areas
    Verwundbarkeit
    not bound at public-safe resolution
    Kapazität
    not bound
    Kaskade
    SEI → INF, ENE
    Horizont
    30 years

    Feste Erde

  • RSK-KOR-CLI-002

    Heavy rain, typhoon and urban flooding

    Expert inputEQL 2

    Treiber
    more intense rainfall and typhoons
    Exposition
    dense cities and floodplains
    Verwundbarkeit
    not bound
    Kapazität
    not bound
    Kaskade
    CLI → WAT → INF, HLT
    Horizont
    jährlich

    Atmosphäre und WetterWassersysteme

  • RSK-KOR-HLT-003

    Heat and demographic change loading health and care

    Expert inputEQL 2

    Treiber
    longer, hotter summers
    Exposition
    older adults; outdoor workers
    Verwundbarkeit
    ageing share not bound [20]
    Kapazität
    heat illness records not bound [16]
    Kaskade
    CLI → HLT → ENE peak
    Horizont
    seasonal

    Atmosphäre und Wetter

  • RSK-KOR-ENE-004

    Fuel and gas supply disruption

    Expert inputEQL 2

    Treiber
    shipping disruption or price spike
    Exposition
    power, industry, households
    Verwundbarkeit
    stock depth not bound [21]
    Kapazität
    not bound
    Kaskade
    TRD → ENE → FOO, FIN
    Horizont
    1–5 years

    No domain reading

Scenario · SCN-KOR-HRT-01

Heat and heavy-rain sequence over the capital region

Under this scenario, results describe a conditional season under stated assumptions. It is not a forecast, and no intervention described here has been carried out.

4 of 12 findings name a hazard in their text. Show them

  1. 1CLI → ENEcooling demand lifts peak load
  2. 2CLI → HLTheat illness loads clinics and care settings
  3. 3CLI → WATheavy rain floods streets and basements
  4. 4WAT → INFtransport and power equipment are cut
  5. 5INF → HLTaccess to care falls for older residents
  6. 6HLT → populationrecovery load falls on the same services

04 · Couplings

How the sectors carry risk into each other.

The Republic of Korea matrix types the twenty couplings between the five core Systeme. Strengths are Nexus estimates from the cited evidence and analogue events; they set the starting graph that the Q1 2027 Foundry cut will test.

Coupling matrix, from row to column
VonWATENEFOOHLTBIO
WAT·StrongStrongMittelStrong
ENEMittel·StrongStrongMittel
FOOMittelWeak·StrongStrong
HLTWeakWeakMittel·Weak
BIOStrongMittelStrongMittel·

Water: 4 couplings out, 4 in; Energy: 4 couplings out, 4 in; Food: 4 couplings out, 4 in; Health: 4 couplings out, 4 in; Biodiversity: 4 couplings out, 4 in. Infrastructure is not in the coupling matrix: none of the edition matrices types it, so it carries no value.

Cascade paths, in the edition’s order

  1. CLI → ENE → HLTa heat wave raises cooling demand and loads clinics and care at onceExpert input
  2. CLI → WAT → INFheavy rain floods dense urban areas and cuts transportExpert input
  3. SEI → INF → ENEan Erdbeben or induced event near energy and industrial sitesGemeldet
  4. TRD → ENE → FOOfuel and fertiliser price shocks pass into food costsExpert input
  5. TRD → FOOa grain price or shipping shock reaches feed and foodExpert input

05 · Findings

Every finding of Republic of Korea.

Search, filter by sector, system or status, and sort. The address bar keeps the view, so a filtered list can be shared. Every row opens the finding at its source.

All 12 findings

Findings of Republic of Korea
IDAusgabeSector or systemStatusStatement
CLI-001Republik KoreaCLI Climate forcing GemeldetKorea submitted a 2035 target of 53% to 61% below 2018 including land use, or 304 to 364 Mt CO₂e, in December 2025.
CLI-002Republik KoreaCLI Climate forcing GemeldetClimate Action Tracker projects 2030 emissions 11% to 19% below 2018 under current policies, excluding land use.
ENE-003Republik KoreaENE Energie GemeldetFossil fuels supplied 60% of electricity and low-carbon sources 40% in 2025; solar and wind supplied 7%.
FOO-004Republik KoreaFOO Ernährung GemeldetKorea expects to import 16.7 million tonnes of cereals in 2026/27, including 11.6 million tonnes of maize and 4.6 million tonnes of wheat.
HLT-005Republik KoreaHLT Gesundheit GemeldetBirths rose 6.7% in 2025 to about 254,300, and mothers were 33.8 years old on average.
HLT-006Republik KoreaHLT Gesundheit GemeldetTotal fertility in 2025 ranged from 0.63 in Seoul to 1.09 in Jeonnam.
FIN-007Republik KoreaFIN Finanzen GemeldetThe IMF projects growth of 2.6% and inflation of 2.5% for 2026.
SEI-008Republik KoreaSEI SEI GemeldetThe 2017 Pohang Erdbeben (moment magnitude 5.5) has been analysed in peer-reviewed work as a possible case of induced seismicity.
WAT-009Republik KoreaWAT Wasser Not boundWater supply, water loss and drought indicators are not bound in this edition.
BIO-010Republik KoreaBIO Biodiversität Not boundProtected-area coverage and ecosystem condition are not bound in this edition.
HLT-011Republik KoreaHLT Gesundheit Not boundThe share of the population aged 65 or over and heat-illness counts are not bound in this edition.
SYS-012Republik KoreaSYS Systemisch Expert inputThe leading compound pathway for 2027 testing is a summer heat and heavy-rain sequence over a dense, ageing capital region that loads power, water, transport and care together.

06 · Editions and calendar

The desks’ editions for Republic of Korea.

The desks’ editions for Republic of Korea
BüroAusgabeStatusKennung
GCRI Systems EvidenceRepublic of Korea 2026Drafted, in stewardship reviewNR-COUNTRY-KOR-2026-BASELINE-v1.0.0
GRF Public DeliberationPublic Deliberation: Republic of Korea 2026In Vorbereitung
GRA Capital ReadinessCapital Readiness: Republic of Korea 2026In Vorbereitung
Standards ProgressNo edition in the 2026 Baseline cycleNot in this cycle
Academy CapabilityNo edition in the 2026 Baseline cycleNot in this cycle
Index MeasurementMeasurement: Republic of Korea 2026In Vorbereitung

Calendar · 2026 Baseline

  1. 01Call opensset by the editor
  2. 02Contribution closeset by the editor
  3. 03Evidenzschluss30 September 2026
  4. 04Desk review and releaseset by the editor
  5. 05Collection compilationset by the editor
  6. 06Collection releaseset by the editor
  7. 07Korrekturenafter release, as needed

Evidence cut NQ-KOR-2026-Q0-1. Next cycles: Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027; their dates are set by the editor.

07 · Take part

Read it, improve it, cite it.

Corrections log

Versions and corrections
VersionDateStatusVeränderungNotice
NR-COUNTRY-KOR-2026-BASELINE-v1.0.0October 2026DRAFTBaseline Edition 2026, inaugural annual edition,keine
Data gaps3What the repository does not hold yet, and the source proposed for each
Data gaps and proposed sources
LückeShown here asProposed source
Exposure values per hazard (people, assets, hectares)the edition’s own risk objects, without valuesthe Index country profile once the Index releases values, risksindex.com/kor/
The NHS-1 hazard types and their assignment to this edition’s risk objectsan editorial reading of the hazard wordsthe NHS-1 type assignment through the Registry
Infrastructure in the coupling matrixInfrastructure marked not assessedan Infrastructure row and column in the edition matrix at the next cut
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