Every 1.7 electric vehicles in South Korea has a charging station available across the country, showing a significant number of chargers compared to the global average.

According to the Korea Smart Grid Association, a non-profit organization promoting renewable energy, Korea had 405,000 EV chargers installed nationwide as of Thursday.

The number of EV chargers in Korea has increased rapidly in recent years, adding approximately 100,000 units annually since 2021, when there were 94,041 chargers.

With the continued expansion of EV infrastructure, there were 1.7 EVs in Korea per charger in December 2024, compared with 1.9 in December 2023.

This puts the country among the best performers globally, especially when compared to markets like the US, Europe and China, where some 10 EVs are vying for a single charger.

Although Korea started developing its EV infrastructure later than some other countries, the government's strong support has driven consistent growth. The budget for government support measures to expand public charging stations reached 371 billion won ($278 million) last year, reflecting a 42 percent on-year increase.

While the increase in infrastructure has made it easier for Korean drivers to charge their vehicles, there are concerns about the over-installation of facilities.

“As competition among charging station operators intensifies, the rotation ratio at each facility has decreased,” said Kim Seong-tae, the head of the Korea Electric Vehicle User Association. “This has led to some operators struggling to pay electricity fees, also resulting in delays in repairing out-of-order facilities," he said during an event hosted by the Korea Automotive Technology Institute in November.

Some also emphasize the need to improve the user experience at charging stations by introducing technologies that reduce hurdles in charging.

“It is essential to adopt a simple and intuitive charging process, just like Plug and Charge technology,” said Choi Woong-chul, an automotive engineering professor at Kookmin University, during the same discussion. The technology enables automatic user verification and payment when the charging plug is linked to the vehicle.

“We need to maximize user convenience by reducing the complex verification process and integrating the payment system.”

By Lim Jae-seong (forestjs@heraldcorp.com)