The present invention relates to a drive device for a plasma display panel comprising a plurality of scan electrodes and a plurality of address electrodes disposed in an array and to a method for the same, wherein the drive device for a plasma display panel comprises: a first calculation unit which computes the number of switchings of the address electrodes when the plurality of scan electrodes are to be scanned using the progressive scanning mode; a second calculation unit which computes the number of switchings of the address electrodes when the plurality of scan electrodes are to be scanned using the interlaced scanning mode; and a comparison unit which compares the number of switchings computed in the first calculation unit and the number of switchings computed in the second calculation unit, and sets either the progressive scanning mode or the interlaced scanning mode, whichever involves the smaller number of switchings.