"RE100? I Know Soju Is Back"… Controversy Over Lee's Question in Presidential Debate

Lee Uses Technical Terms Such as RE100, Taxonomy, and Blue Hydrogen

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate. / Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] In the presidential candidate TV debate held the previous day, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, sparked attention by bringing up unfamiliar concepts such as 'RE100', 'Taxonomy', and 'Blue Hydrogen'.

During the first TV debate jointly hosted by the three major broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS on the 3rd, Lee asked Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, "How do you plan to respond to RE100 (Renewable Energy 100%)?"

In response, Yoon tilted his head and said, "Pardon? Could you say that again?" Lee then clearly spelled out, "R-E-100," but Yoon asked again, "What is that?"

When Lee explained, "Renewable Energy 100%," Yoon said, "I believe that 100% renewable energy is not realistically feasible."

Lee also asked Yoon, "The EU Taxonomy is a very important agenda," and questioned, "You advocate for nuclear power as if you are an expert on it, so how will you address this issue?"

Yoon replied, "I have never heard of this EU thing. Please explain it to me."

The term 'Blue Hydrogen', which refers to producing hydrogen by capturing and storing carbon dioxide generated from fossil fuels, also came up. Lee said to Yoon, "New industries such as so-called green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and gray hydrogen are emerging. If you have any vision or thoughts related to the blue hydrogen production industry, please share them."

When Yoon avoided answering, Lee explained, "Blue hydrogen refers to producing hydrogen by breaking down fossil fuels while capturing carbon, just for your reference."

Some netizens mocked Lee's remarks, saying, "What is R2100?", "Why obsess over technical terms that even the public doesn't know?", "Is this a quiz show?", and "I know Soju Is Back though."

On the other hand, other netizens responded that Lee's remarks were appropriate, saying, "RE100 is common knowledge," and "A presidential candidate should obviously know this."

On the 3rd, at the KBS studio in Seoul where the presidential candidate debate jointly hosted by the three terrestrial broadcasters was held, Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party candidate, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate (from left), are taking a commemorative photo before the debate. / Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

RE100 stands for 'Renewable Energy 100%' and is a global campaign aiming for companies to switch 100% of their electricity consumption to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power by 2050.

Thirteen founding members, including the Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA Group, participated, and by last year, 340 global companies such as Apple, Google, and BMW had joined RE100.

Also, the 'Green Taxonomy' first announced by the EU in June 2020 is a compound word of Green, meaning green industry, and Taxonomy, meaning classification. It refers to an environmentally and climate-friendly green classification system that includes investments in natural gas and nuclear power generation.

Blue hydrogen is a method of producing hydrogen by capturing and storing carbon dioxide generated from fossil fuels. Although green hydrogen is produced using electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, producing green hydrogen is difficult in Korea without fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, Park Young-sun, Chair of the Digital Transformation Committee of the Democratic Party's presidential campaign, pointed out, "Yoon's answer that he does not know what RE100 is clearly shows a lack of consideration for carbon neutrality issues," adding, "Although the RE100 campaign may be unfamiliar to the general public, anyone who has looked into renewable energy and carbon neutrality issues even a little would have heard the term at least once or twice."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.