South Korea has unveiled a long-term energy plan to sharply reduce power production by coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

A working group under the Energy Ministry on Friday released the draft plan for the nation's ninth basic energy policy for the years 2020 to 2034.

The plan calls for the closing of all coal-fired power plants whose 30-year operational life cycles expire by 2034, halving the number of the country's 60 coal-powered plants by that year. 

The government will turn 24 of the plants into power generators running on liquefied natural gas in order to make up for an electricity shortage that will result from the planned closures. 

Under the plan, the number of nuclear power stations will peak at 26 in 2024 before falling to 17 in 2034.