Article 1(Purpose) #
The purpose of this Decree is to prescribe matters mandated by the Act on Promotion of Production and Use of Biogas from Organic Waste Resources and matters necessary for the enforcement thereof.
Article 2(Organic materials) #
"Organic materials prescribed by Presidential Decree" in subparagraph 1f of Article 2 of the Act on Promotion of Production and Use of Biogas from Organic Waste Resources (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") means liquid residues generated during the treatment of food wastes.
Article 3(Obligated private producers) #
(1) "Business entities that discharge or treat organic waste resources of at least the quantity prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 5(1)2 of the Act means business entities determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment (hereinafter referred to as "obligated private producers") from among any of the following business entities: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
1. Business entities that have been engaged in business with an average monthly number of at least 25,000 pigs raised for the 3 years immediately preceding the year preceding the relevant year in which the biogas production target is established pursuant to Article 5(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "biogas production target year");
2. Business entities that operate a treatment plant installed with financial support from the State or a local government, with a daily livestock excreta treatment capacity of at least 200 cubic meters among treatment plants defined in subparagraph 8 of Article 2 of the Act on the Management and Use of Livestock Excreta (limited to cases where the ratio of the average annual quantity of pig manure imported to the average annual quantity of livestock excreta imported for the 3 years immediately preceding the year preceding the biogas production target year is at least 80 percent);
3. Business entity whose average annual volume of food wastes discharged by each place of business for the 3 years immediately preceding the year preceding the biogas production target year is at least 1,000 tons.
(2) The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment shall publicly notify obligated private producers each year by December 31 of the year preceding the biogas production target year. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
[Enforcement Date] Article 3 shall enter into force on the following dates:
1. The provisions regarding obligated public producers: January 1, 2025;
2. The provisions regarding obligated private producers: January 1, 2026.
Article 4(Production target rate) #
(1) "Production target rate prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the provisions, with the exception of the subparagraphs, of Article 5(2) of the Act and paragraph (3) of that Article means the production target rate determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment (hereinafter referred to as "production target rate") in consideration of the long-term production target rate specified in Appendix 1, the current status of annual biogas production, the level of achievement of production target rate, the domestic biogas technology level, and other circumstances. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
(2) The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment shall publicly notify the production target rate each year by December 31 of the year preceding the biogas production target year. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
(3) The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment shall examine the appropriateness of the long-term production target rate specified in Appendix 1 every 5 years. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
[Enforcement Date] Article 4 shall enter into force on the following dates:
1. The provisions regarding obligated public producers: January 1, 2025;
2. The provisions regarding obligated private producers: January 1, 2026.
Article 5(Request for provision of materials) #
If necessary to designate obligated private producers or to calculate the biogas production targets pursuant to Article 5(2) and (3) of the Act, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment may request the heads of relevant central administrative agencies and the heads of local governments to provide the following materials; in such cases, the heads of central administrative agencies and the heads of local governments so requested shall comply with such request, unless there is good cause: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
1. Materials on livestock breeding facilities, such as the information on farm operators, the location of livestock breeding facilities, and the number of heads of livestock, in the Traceability System under Article 27(2) of the Livestock and Livestock Products Traceability Act;
2. Materials on current status of treatment of livestock excreta, such as the amount of livestock excreta for each livestock species brought into treatment plants defined in subparagraph 8 of Article 2 of the Act on the Management and Use of Livestock Excreta installed with financial support from the State or a local government, and the current status of each type of treatment;
3. Other materials deemed necessary by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment.
Article 6(Method of calculating penalty surcharges) #
(1) The method of calculating penalty surcharges under Article 8(1) of the Act shall be as specified in Appendix 2.
(2) If the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment imposes a penalty surcharge pursuant to Article 8(1) of the Act, the Minister shall give written notice of payment, specifying the grounds for such imposition and the amount of the penalty surcharge. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
(3) A person in receipt of a notice under paragraph (2) shall pay the relevant penalty surcharge to a collecting agency designated by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
(4) Upon receipt of a penalty surcharge pursuant to paragraph (3), a collecting agency shall issue a receipt to the payer and notify, without delay, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment of the fact that the penalty surcharge has been paid. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
[Enforcement Date] Article 6 shall enter into force on the following dates:
1. The provisions regarding obligated public producers: January 1, 2025;
2. The provisions regarding obligated private producers: January 1, 2026.
Article 7(Standards for reduction of or exemption from penalty surcharges) #
(1) "Cases prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 8(2)3 of the Act means cases where an obligated public or private producer under Article 5(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "obligated producer of biogas") fails to achieve the biogas production target due to any of the following reasons: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
1. Where it is impossible to properly operate the relevant biogas plant or to perform outsourced treatment due to a natural disaster or other disasters equivalent thereto;
2. Where it is impossible to properly operate the relevant biogas plant due to the improvement or repair of the plant or unavoidable obstacles;
3. Where the producer has obtained certification of greenhouse gas reductions from external projects under Article 30 of the Act on Allocation and Trading of Greenhouse-Gas Emission Permits by methods of utilizing organic waste resources specified in subparagraph 1a through d of Article 2 of the Act, other than biogas production;
4. Where there is any other unavoidable cause prescribed by Decree of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, such as delay in the installation of a biogas plant due to a cause not attributable to the obligated producer of biogas in the process of various kinds of authorization or permission.
(2) Penalty surcharges shall be reduced or exempted according to the following classifications:
1. In cases falling under Article 8(2)1 of the Act: Reduction or exemption by an amount calculated by multiplying the production volume of a biogas plant for which construction works have been commenced, by the amount publicly notified by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment under subparagraph 2 of the Note of Appendix 2 (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as "publicly notified amount");
2. In cases falling under Article 8(2)2 of the Act: Exemption;
3. In cases falling under paragraph (1)1 or 2: Reduction or exemption by an amount calculated by multiplying the publicly notified amount by the volume of biogas not produced during the period in which the relevant biogas plant failed to be properly operated or outsourced treatment failed to be processed;
4. In cases falling under paragraph (1)3: Reduction or exemption by an amount calculated by multiplying the publicly notified amount by the volume of biogas computed by multiplying the biogas production coefficients for each type of organic waste resources under Article 5(4) of the Act by the volume of biogas used to obtain certification of greenhouse gas reductions from external projects; in such cases, the volume of the relevant biogas shall not exceed 25 percent of the total production target;
Article 8(Persons eligible for financial support) #
(1) The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment or the head of a local government may provide subsidies to fully or partially cover expenses incurred in installing, improving, and operating a biogas plant or a biogas use facility pursuant to Article 14 of the Act. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
(2) The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment or the head of a local government may give priority to providing support under paragraph (1) to any of the following persons: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
1. An obligated producer of biogas who has achieved in excess of the biogas production target established under Article 5(2) or (3) of the Act;
2. An obligated producer who has obtained excellent results of the operational performance evaluation of the relevant biogas plant under Article 10(2) of the Act;
3. An obligated private producer who intends to install a biogas plant (limited to a person who is publicly notified as an obligated private producer for the biogas production target year of 2026).
(3) If necessary to provide subsidies to cover expenses under paragraph (1), the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment may request the Korea Environment Corporation established under the Korea Environment Corporation Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Korea Environment Corporation") to conduct a technical review. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
Article 9(Establishment and operation of Biogas Gas Center) #
"Relevant specialized institution prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 17(2) of the Act means the Korea Environment Corporation.
Article 10(Delegation and entrustment of authority and business affairs) #
(1) The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment shall delegate the following authority to the head of an environmental local government office pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Act: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
1. The following authority regarding penalty surcharges to be imposed on obligated producers of biogas pursuant to Article 8 of the Act:
a. Imposition and collection of penalty surcharges under Article 8(1) of the Act and reduction or exemption under paragraph (2) of that Article;
b. Demand for payment of penalty surcharges in arrears and imposition of late-payment penalties under Article 8(5) of the Act;
c. Compulsory collection of penalty surcharges and late-payment penalties under Article 8(6) of the Act;
d. Request for submission of relevant materials under Article 8(9) of the Act;
2. Request for reporting and submission of materials and inspection under Article 18(1) of the Act;
3. Imposing and collecting administrative fines under Article 21(1)1, 4, and 5 of the Act.
(2) Pursuant to Article 19(2) of the Act, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment shall entrust the Korea Environment Corporation with business affairs regarding provision of subsidization to cover expenses under Article 14 of the Act (limited to business affairs regarding provision of subsidization to cover expenses to obligated private producers). <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
[Enforcement Date] Article 10(1)1 shall enter into force on the following dates:
1. The provisions regarding obligated public producers: January 1, 2025;
2. The provisions regarding obligated private producers: January 1, 2026.
Article 11(Re-examination of regulation) #
The Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment shall examine the appropriateness of the scope of obligated private producers under Article 3 every 3 years, counting from January 1, 2024 (referring to the period that ends on the day before January 1 of every 3rd year) and shall take measures, such as making improvements. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>
Article 12(Criteria for imposing administrative fines) #
The criteria for imposing administrative fines under Article 21(1) of the Act shall be as specified in Appendix 3.