South Korea does not have one government-set price for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) is the dominant importer, but other companies also buy LNG. Buyers negotiate individual contracts with suppliers, using benchmarks such as the Japan Korea Marker (JKM), Brent crude or Henry Hub, plus deal-specific terms. KOGAS then applies domestic allocation and tariff arrangements that affect what power plants and other consumers pay.
Who buys LNG for South Korea?
KOGAS is the central buyer and supplier in South Korea’s gas system, but it is not the only importer. Yonhap reported that KOGAS accounted for 78.8% of South Korea’s LNG imports in 2023, in an article published on May 2, 2024. That is a historical share for 2023, not a current market-share figure. Other companies, including POSCO International, have also participated in short-term procurement. (Yonhap News Agency; S&P Global.)
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Purchases come through a mix of longer-term or forward contracts and shorter-term or spot procurement. Long-term agreements can provide a supply framework over time; shorter deals let buyers procure cargoes closer to when they need them. The balance between them can change, and neither route has one standard price.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallSouth Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said in a May 2, 2024 release that new long- and short-term contracts were being pursued to meet domestic demand and support price stability. A 2025 U.S. International Trade Administration market overview reported 4.3 million tons in long-term deals involving Trafigura, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy. The overview does not establish the precise period or annualization for that figure, so it should not be read as a current annual import rate.
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KOGAS also has interests in LNG-related resource projects. Its portfolio page reported eight LNG-related projects within an 11-country, 18-project portfolio at the end of December 2024. Those investments provide context about the company’s wider LNG activities; they are separate from the purchase formulas and prices in its import contracts.
Who negotiates the import price?
The price is set through negotiations between buyers and sellers under individual contracts, not by a single authority publishing one Korean LNG import price. A contract may refer to a global index, but the index is only one part of its formula. Contract duration, cargo timing, volume flexibility and other negotiated terms can also affect the effective price.
| Price reference or term | How it can matter | What the evidence establishes |
|---|---|---|
| JKM | A regional LNG benchmark used in some short-term procurement. | S&P Global reported that Korean short-term contracts for 2025–2027 were linked to JKM. It also described selected awards priced about US$0.20–US$0.50 per MMBtu below the full-month JKM average. Those reported discounts apply to the selected deals, not to all Korean contracts. |
| Brent crude | An oil benchmark that can be referenced in a tender or contract formula. | S&P Global described tender mechanisms referencing ICE Brent. The complete formulas and prices of all active Korean contracts are not established. |
| Henry Hub | A U.S. gas benchmark that can be referenced in procurement. | S&P Global described tender mechanisms referencing Henry Hub. That does not mean every Korean contract is linked to it. |
| Contract terms | Duration, cargo timing and volume flexibility can change the price or value of a supply agreement. | The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s December 2025 report discusses Korean JKM-linked short-term awards and the relevance of flexibility to discounts. It does not disclose every active contract’s full formula. |
The benchmark names do not reveal a single representative price for South Korea. Even contracts referencing the same index may have different terms, and public reporting on selected tenders is not a full inventory of active sales and purchase agreements.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsHow do import prices reach power plants and city-gas customers?
An import contract price and a domestic customer tariff are different layers. KOGAS describes two allocation approaches for gas it sells: an Individual Gas Tariff (IGT), which matches a particular LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to a power plant, and an Average Gas Tariff (AGT), which averages valid SPAs across consumers. In other words, under AGT, a consumer’s price is not simply the price of one specific LNG cargo.
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KOGAS says new power plants seeking gas supply since January 2022 can apply for IGT. Plants still covered by valid AGT contracts remain under those contracts for their contract period. IGT therefore is not a system already applied to every power plant or customer.
City-gas tariffs have their own raw-material cost adjustments. A Korean Exchange filing describes adjustments tied to oil prices and exchange rates, with different adjustment cycles for household, commercial and gas-fired-power categories. That filing shows why domestic tariffs are not simply a daily copy of JKM; it does not establish the exact current adjustment rules. For present rates or adjustment dates, consult current tariff notices rather than infer them from an import benchmark.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What import-price figures can—and cannot—tell you
EG-TIPS, operated by the Korea Energy Economics Institute, lists US$632 per ton as South Korea’s preliminary 2024 annual LNG import unit price. The platform attributes that figure to the April 2025 Energy Statistics Monthly. It is a retrospective national aggregate, not a quote for a current spot cargo, a contract price available to an individual buyer, or a direct measure of a household’s gas bill.
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A spot-market quote answers what a cargo might cost under specified market conditions; an annual import unit price averages imports across a period. A domestic tariff adds another layer, shaped by allocation and adjustment arrangements. Those figures should not be substituted for one another.
How to interpret a report about Korean LNG prices
- Check the date and scope. A market-share figure, contract award or import-cost average describes a particular period; it is not automatically current.
- Identify the benchmark. JKM, Brent and Henry Hub represent different price references. The benchmark alone does not disclose the contract’s full pricing formula.
- Look for contract terms. Duration, cargo timing and volume flexibility can matter alongside the index.
- Separate import costs from domestic bills. KOGAS’s IGT and AGT arrangements and city-gas adjustment mechanisms affect how costs are allocated or passed through.
- Do not generalize a selected deal. Reported discounts or tender terms are examples for the contracts described, not proof of a standard Korean price.
Public reporting cited here does not establish the exact prices and full formulas for every active Korean SPA. For that reason, no one index, contract award or dated national average should be treated as the price paid by every Korean buyer or consumer.
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