Creative-Destruction in Korea’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Industry

Abstract In this case we detail and explain the Korean government’s strategic activism in the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle arena, and its distinctive pattern of progress towards greening the auto industry more broadly. We ask: what has motivated the state to become so involved in green car industry creation, especially in the arena of FCEVs? How have Korean policymakers pursued their ‘creative’ ambitions? Why has the government appeared more ambitious and active in ‘green car’ industry creation than in ICE vehicles industry destruction? To what extent is this ‘creative-destructive’ misalignment now resolving? What factors are driving this realignment, and what obstacles to a fully green shift remain? To address these questions, we divide the case study into three parts, structured temporally. This allows us to both demonstrate and explain the varying degrees of alignment between the state’s ‘creative’ and ‘destructive’ ambitions and capabilities from the 1980s to the end of 2021