Climate ministry honors 16 civil servants for EV expansion and other key achievements

South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy said Sunday it will present its "2026 Second Special Performance Award" to 16 civil servants at the Han River Flood Control Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, recognizing their contributions to four outstanding policy achievements, including the expansion of electric vehicle adoption.

The special performance bonus system rewards civil servants who deliver exceptional results and fosters a culture of diligent public service. Sunday's ceremony marks the second round of awards, following the inaugural presentation in April.

The four projects selected for this second round were drawn from policies carried out between March and May, chosen for accelerating carbon neutrality and producing measurable results in public safety and environmental protection.

The top honor went to the project titled "Building an EV and charging infrastructure system for decarbonizing the transport sector."

The project lowered the barrier to EV purchases by introducing a new subsidy for buyers switching from internal combustion vehicles, and eased the financial burden on existing EV owners through revised charging fees and a discount regime. The ministry also secured an additional 150 billion won ($96.5 million) in subsidies — enough to cover 29,000 vehicles — to expand support for low-income households and small business owners amid high oil prices driven by the war in the Middle East.

The excellence award went to the project "Building a foundation for renewable heat transition through innovation in thermal energy management."

The project contributed to carbon neutrality by amending the enforcement decree of the Renewable Energy Act in March to include air-source thermal energy within the renewable energy category and establishing detailed recognition criteria for heat pump deployment, enabling a shift from fossil fuel-based heating to eco-friendly thermal energy.

Two encouragement awards were also presented. One went to the project "Strengthening flood response by unlocking hidden water storage capacity in existing dams and reservoirs," which secured an additional 1.04 billion tons of flood control capacity and generated an estimated budget saving of around 4 trillion won.

The other encouragement award recognized "The designation of Geumjeongsan National Park and the creation of the first urban national park in the southeastern region." The project completed the park's designation process — which had stalled for seven years — through active public engagement, laying the groundwork for ecological conservation and tourism development in the southeastern region.

Climate, Environment and Energy Minister Kim Sung-hwan said the achievements were "the result of boldly tackling issues directly tied to people's lives in pursuit of a decarbonized future," adding that the ministry would "do its utmost to lead the way in addressing the defining challenge of our time — responding to the climate crisis."