한일 수소차(FCEV) 정책목표 설정에 관한 연구: 한국과 일본의 정책전문가 인식비교를 중심으로 = Technical and Institutional Policy Goals of the FCEV Industry: Comparing Perceptions of Policy Experts in South Korea and Japan

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In order to overcome the climate crisis caused by climate change and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the transition toward hydrogen economy has emerged as an important policy goal for both South Korea and Japan in the transportation, energy, and industrial sectors. The FCEV industry is important for both the environmental aspect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the industrial aspect of growing the eco-friendly vehicle market and increasing purchasing power. This study aims to analyze the level of awareness of the FCEV industry in both Korea and Japan, and provide practical policy implications for the future, and suggest some evidence-based policy goals. In this study, 18 Korean policy experts and 18 Japanese policy experts (36 policy experts in total) were surveyed in person and via email using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results show that Korean and Japanese policy experts perceive the level of policy development to be relatively equivalent to that of the compared countries in terms of technology, but perceive it to be insufficient in terms of institutional aspects. Based on the experts’ perceptions, the key challenges to the policy goals of the FCEV industry were largely consistent in the institutional aspect, but differed in technical areas. That is, in terms of technology, Korean experts emphasized infrastructure technology, while the Japanese considered safety technology much more important, and only the Japanese prioritized securing hydrogen technology competitiveness and CCUS technology. Korean experts, on the other hand, focused on overall R&D support. As for institutional challenges, both countries prioritized financial support, regulatory reform, tax reform, legal framework, and R&D support. While existing S&T and industrial diplomacy between South Korea and Japan has focused more on technical cooperation, this study suggests that in the hydrogen industry, there is greater potential for institutional cooperation in the future. In order to achieve hydrogen economy for both Korea and Japan, it is necessary to more actively promote joint research and mutual policy cooperation in relation to the development of policy instruments to regulate, finance, and support R&D, research on related tax systems, and improved hydrogen laws.