Reports · GCRI · Country profile
Republic of Korea 2026
Republic of 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.
- Matokeo ya uchunguzi
- 12
- each with its status and source
- Sectors with findings
- 5 of 6
- Infrastructure not assessed
- Risk objects
- 4
- order carries no rank
- Vyanzo
- 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.
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.
- WATMaji1 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.
- ENENishati1 finding
40% Low-carbon share of electricity, 2025. □Reported
Fossil fuels 60% of electricity in 2025; low-carbon 40%.
- INFMiundombinunot assessed
Dense urban networks; condition not bound at public-safe resolution.
- FOOChakula1 finding
16.7 million t Cereal imports expected, marketing year 2026/27, 2026. □Reported
Cereal imports of 16.7 million tonnes expected in 2026/27.
- HLTAfya3 findings
0.63 births per woman Lowest regional total fertility rate, 2025. □Reported
Births up 6.7% in 2025; fertility lowest in Seoul; ageing share not bound.
- BIOBioanuwai1 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
□ReportedEQL 3
- Driver
- natural or induced seismicity
- Exposure
- industrial and urban areas
- Vulnerability
- not bound at public-safe resolution
- Capacity
- not bound
- Cascade
- SEI → INF, ENE
- Horizon
- 30 years
RSK-KOR-CLI-002
Heavy rain, typhoon and urban flooding
◎Expert inputEQL 2
- Driver
- more intense rainfall and typhoons
- Exposure
- dense cities and floodplains
- Vulnerability
- not bound
- Capacity
- not bound
- Cascade
- CLI → WAT → INF, HLT
- Horizon
- annual
RSK-KOR-HLT-003
Heat and demographic change loading health and care
◎Expert inputEQL 2
RSK-KOR-ENE-004
Fuel and gas supply disruption
◎Expert inputEQL 2
- Driver
- shipping disruption or price spike
- Exposure
- power, industry, households
- Vulnerability
- stock depth not bound [21]
- Capacity
- not bound
- Cascade
- TRD → ENE → FOO, FIN
- Horizon
- 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
- 1CLI → ENEcooling demand lifts peak load
- 2CLI → HLTheat illness loads clinics and care settings
- 3CLI → WATheavy rain floods streets and basements
- 4WAT → INFtransport and power equipment are cut
- 5INF → HLTaccess to care falls for older residents
- 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 mifumo. Strengths are Nexus estimates from the cited evidence and analogue events; they set the starting graph that the Q1 2027 Foundry cut will test.
| From | WAT | ENE | FOO | HLT | BIO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAT | · | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Strong |
| ENE | Moderate | · | Strong | Strong | Moderate |
| FOO | Moderate | Weak | · | Strong | Strong |
| HLT | Weak | Weak | Moderate | · | Weak |
| BIO | Strong | Moderate | Strong | Moderate | · |
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
- CLI → ENE → HLTa heat wave raises cooling demand and loads clinics and care at once◎Expert input
- CLI → WAT → INFheavy rain floods dense urban areas and cuts transport◎Expert input
- SEI → INF → ENEan earthquake or induced event near energy and industrial sites□Reported
- TRD → ENE → FOOfuel and fertiliser price shocks pass into food costs◎Expert input
- TRD → FOOa grain price or shipping shock reaches feed and food◎Expert 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
| ID | Edition | Sector or system | Hali | Statement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLI-001 | Republic of Korea | CLI Climate forcing | □ Reported | Korea submitted a 2035 target of 53% to 61% below 2018 including land use, or 304 to 364 Mt CO₂e, in December 2025. |
| CLI-002 | Republic of Korea | CLI Climate forcing | □ Reported | Climate Action Tracker projects 2030 emissions 11% to 19% below 2018 under current policies, excluding land use. |
| ENE-003 | Republic of Korea | ENE Nishati | □ Reported | Fossil fuels supplied 60% of electricity and low-carbon sources 40% in 2025; solar and wind supplied 7%. |
| FOO-004 | Republic of Korea | FOO Chakula | □ Reported | Korea 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-005 | Republic of Korea | HLT Afya | □ Reported | Births rose 6.7% in 2025 to about 254,300, and mothers were 33.8 years old on average. |
| HLT-006 | Republic of Korea | HLT Afya | □ Reported | Total fertility in 2025 ranged from 0.63 in Seoul to 1.09 in Jeonnam. |
| FIN-007 | Republic of Korea | FIN Fedha | □ Reported | The IMF projects growth of 2.6% and inflation of 2.5% for 2026. |
| SEI-008 | Republic of Korea | SEI SEI | □ Reported | The 2017 Pohang earthquake (moment magnitude 5.5) has been analysed in peer-reviewed work as a possible case of induced seismicity. |
| WAT-009 | Republic of Korea | WAT Maji | · Not bound | Water supply, water loss and drought indicators are not bound in this edition. |
| BIO-010 | Republic of Korea | BIO Bioanuwai | · Not bound | Protected-area coverage and ecosystem condition are not bound in this edition. |
| HLT-011 | Republic of Korea | HLT Afya | · Not bound | The share of the population aged 65 or over and heat-illness counts are not bound in this edition. |
| SYS-012 | Republic of Korea | SYS Systemic | ◎ Expert input | The 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.
| Desk | Edition | State | Identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCRI Systems Evidence | Republic of Korea 2026 | Drafted, in stewardship review | NR-COUNTRY-KOR-2026-BASELINE-v1.0.0 |
| GRF Public Deliberation | Public Deliberation: Republic of Korea 2026 | In preparation | |
| GRA Capital Readiness | Capital Readiness: Republic of Korea 2026 | In preparation | |
| Standards Progress | No edition in the 2026 Baseline cycle | Not in this cycle | |
| Academy Capability | No edition in the 2026 Baseline cycle | Not in this cycle | |
| Index Measurement | Measurement: Republic of Korea 2026 | In preparation |
Calendar · 2026 Baseline
- 01Call opensset by the editor
- 02Contribution closeset by the editor
- 03Evidence close30 September 2026
- 04Desk review and releaseset by the editor
- 05Collection compilationset by the editor
- 06Collection releaseset by the editor
- 07Masahihishoafter 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.
- ReadThe edition, chapter by chapter, with every source.
- ChangiaSend evidence, a source or a method before the next cut.
- ReviewJoin the stewardship review of this edition.
- CiteAPA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS and the house style, as a draft.
- PDFThe signed PDF is issued at release; print the complete edition today.
Corrections log
| Version | Date | State | Change | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NR-COUNTRY-KOR-2026-BASELINE-v1.0.0 | October 2026 | DRAFT | Baseline Edition 2026, inaugural annual edition, | none |
Data gaps3What the repository does not hold yet, and the source proposed for each
| Gap | Shown here as | Proposed source |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure values per hazard (people, assets, hectares) | the edition’s own risk objects, without values | the Index country profile once the Index releases values, risksindex.com/kor/ |
| The NHS-1 hazard types and their assignment to this edition’s risk objects | an editorial reading of the hazard words | the NHS-1 type assignment through the Registry |
| Infrastructure in the coupling matrix | Infrastructure marked not assessed | an Infrastructure row and column in the edition matrix at the next cut |
Send evidence or a correction on Republic of Korea.
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