Living in Chicago and experiencing winter, I thought, "It's really cold here," but even though winter is long, there is plenty of sunlight, so many solar panels are being installed.

Here, the installation of solar panels is entirely a personal choice. Some people do it for environmental reasons, while others calculate tax benefits or electricity savings and voluntarily install them. The government does not say, "You must install solar panels when you build your house." It is literally an option I choose when I need and can afford it.

However, when I see the news from Korea, it makes me feel bitter. The Lee Jae-myung government is said to be making solar panel installation mandatory for new apartments.

As a core of the new government's energy and climate policy, a plan to mandate the installation of solar and renewable energy facilities in new public and private buildings is being prepared for legislation, starting with public parking lots and set to be implemented from November 28.

The moment I heard that, I recalled the scenes from the Moon Jae-in administration when mountains and fields were covered with solar panels. I remember questioning, 'Is this really environmentally friendly?' when I saw news about receiving subsidies, cutting down trees, and landslides.

What I've felt since immigrating is that the U.S. has a relatively lower degree of government interference in private lives.

The energy policy is the same. Of course, they encourage solar energy here too. But that is 'encouragement,' not 'coercion.' Since installation costs are high, the federal or state government provides tax deductions, but there is no requirement like, "You must do this when building an apartment." This is clearly a way of liberal democracy.

But why does Korea keep pushing this kind of 'totalitarian environmental policy' whenever a leftist government comes into power?

It's not that solar energy is bad. The problem is efficiency and practicality. Especially in high-rise apartments where the roof area is limited, how effective can solar energy be? The installation cost will be included in the sale price, which ultimately becomes a burden for the younger generation.

What Korea should invest in now are technologies with future competitiveness, like small modular reactors or nuclear fusion energy. In this time when the whole world is desperate for energy security, it is too unfortunate if Korea is still spending its budget on installing panels on mountains.

Here in the U.S., investments in new energy technologies are active. Especially, nuclear energy is once again gaining attention as 'carbon-free energy,' and there are quite a few startups for small reactors in Silicon Valley.

I've heard that the real estate market in Korea is struggling these days, and to add the cost of solar panel installation to the sale price is... really.

Isn't this an overheating of policy rather than solar energy?