As South Africa moves to improve its power infrastructure, analysts say it is creating opportunities for Korean corporations.

The Korea International Trade Association's Institute for International Trade said on the 7th in its report, "Gateway to Africa: promising export items and entry strategies for South Africa," that Korea's promising export items to South Africa include ▲ steel ▲ auto parts ▲ energy industry (secondary batteries) ▲ advanced new materials (special resins). It also said that because South Africa, which suffers power shortages more than 300 days a year, is pursuing power grid stabilization as a national task, the entry of power equipment companies will be possible.

Yeo Han-koo (left), head of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Trade Negotiations, poses for a commemorative photo with Parks Tau (right), South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, at the 2025 G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting held at the Boardwalk Hotel in Gqeberha, South Africa, on the 9th (local time). /Courtesy of News1

As it implements the Integrated Resource Plan, the South African government plans to spur private power generation investment by allowing private access to transmission networks that the state power company Eskom used to monopolize. It is also pushing large-scale eco-friendly energy projects. According to BlueWeave Consulting, a market strategy consulting and research firm, the size of Southern Africa's power and distribution transformer market is expected to grow from $960 million (about 1.38 trillion won) in 2023 to $1.659 billion (about 2.4 trillion won) in 2030.

Hyosung Heavy Industries established a subsidiary in South Africa in 2017 and began developing a new market. In 2022, it won a large ESS construction project worth 170 billion won ordered by the South African power authority. Hyosung Heavy Industries' orders in Africa exceeded 500 billion won from 2022 to 2024.

In February last year, law firm Daeryook & AJU signed a tripartite business agreement with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and the South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea to enter the African energy market. Timothy Dickens (left), chairman of the South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea; Yoon Sang-jo (center), head of the Green Business Division at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP); and Lee Gyu-cheol (right), managing partner at Daeryook & AJU. /Courtesy of Daeryook & AJU

Steel exports to South Africa are also inching up. According to the Korea Iron & Steel Association, Korea's steel export volume to South Africa averaged 1,423 tons (t) per month in 2024, but this year it rose more than fourfold to 5,750 t. Ok Ung-gi, a senior researcher at the Korea International Trade Association, said, "South Africa, with its large young population, has a developed auto industry. There may be significant opportunities in cars and steel parts."

The South African market is promising, but there are practical challenges. Power infrastructure is so lacking that blackouts are repeated, and corporations must compete with Chinese firms that are aggressive with low-priced volumes. Among South Africa's import source countries, China accounts for 21.5%, about three times that of second-place India (7.2%). Korea stands at 0.8%, ranking 32nd.

The local affirmative action policy, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), also poses a hurdle for Korean corporations entering the market. The law requires that when establishing a company locally, Black equity must be at least half, and it is known that Chinese people are recognized as Black.

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