The key conclusions are as follows.

• First, decisions on whether to incorporate existing projects into the Special Act on the Promotion of Offshore Wind Power and Industrial Development should be made based on a substantive assessment of whether such projects meet the requirements for designation as offshore wind development zones and for the selection of project developers under the Act. This is a fundamental principle to ensure policy credibility while preserving the legislative intent of the Special Act.

• Second, in order to reduce inefficient duplication of procedures, it is necessary to allow the use of previously submitted documents and past review results, taking into account factors such as the time elapsed since permitting. However, such flexibility should not be interpreted as exempting projects from a substantive evaluation of whether they meet the relevant requirements.

• Third, a representative international reference for designing transitional arrangements is Ireland’s Maritime Area Planning Act (MAP Act). Similar to Korea, Ireland transitioned from a system with pre-existing projects to a government-led, plan-based site designation regime. In doing so, it minimized uncertainty during the transition by clearly defining eligible projects and evaluation criteria in legislation. In addition, Ireland established an implementation strategy that phases in both existing and new projects to achieve its 2030 offshore wind deployment targets.

Finally, transitional arrangements must be designed and implemented in a way that simultaneously considers two objectives: achieving offshore wind deployment targets and ensuring the credibility of the legal framework. If the system is not effectively implemented after its establishment, the extensive efforts—spanning more than 1,400 days—to build the legal foundation of the Special Act may not yield meaningful results. The new government should therefore promptly demonstrate tangible outcomes by showcasing both successful integration of existing projects and new project development under the Special Act, thereby translating institutional reform into real-world progress.