Original Korean article: Today Energy
Government targets October 2027 for unified power company launch
The government will pursue the integration of five Gencos into a single entity, Korea Power Corporation, with an official launch targeted for October 1, 2027.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment held an integration plan briefing on September 4 at Korea Electric Power Corporation's South Seoul headquarters. The ministry announced plans to integrate five Gencos—Korea South-East Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Western Power, Korea Southern Power, and Korea East-West Power—into one company by establishing Korea Power Corporation as a 100 percent subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation, along with the roadmap for implementation.
The government has conducted research since February this year and has broadly gathered opinions from stakeholders including experts, labour unions, and the five Gencos. The final research findings recommended that a single-company integration is the most suitable structure when comprehensively considering strengthened implementation of energy transition and just transition, as well as operational efficiency.
The five Gencos currently operate approximately 53 gigawatts of generating capacity. Upon integration, the company will become a global top-ten scale power generation enterprise.
Organizational structure and workforce changes
Korea Power Corporation will establish an integrated headquarters alongside three to four regional renewable energy divisions. The integrated headquarters will consist of four divisions: the renewable energy division, the just transition division, the safety and technology division, and the planning and management division, each headed by an executive vice president.
The current structure of five company presidents, five auditors, and ten executive vice presidents will be streamlined to one president, one auditor, and four executive vice presidents. The combined headquarters workforce of the five companies will be reduced from approximately 2,400 to 1,800 employees.
The newly established three to four regional renewable energy divisions will deploy approximately 600 remaining headquarters staff to serve as hub organizations dedicated to regional renewable energy projects such as solar and onshore wind. These divisions will lead renewable energy expansion tailored to regional conditions including site selection and community acceptance.
Existing regional thermal power divisions will maintain their current structure to ensure stable plant operations and on-site safety. As coal power plants are phased out or converted in the future, the company will redeploy personnel according to just transition principles and will consider establishing additional regional renewable energy divisions as needed.
The five Genco headquarters buildings currently located in Jinju, Boryeong, Taean, Busan, and Ulsan each accommodate approximately 500 employees. Space constraints make it impossible to house 1,800 integrated headquarters staff in a single existing location. Physically dispersing the organization could limit synergies from unified decision-making and inter-departmental collaboration, making construction of a new headquarters building necessary.
The specific location of the integrated headquarters will not be finalized in this integration plan. The government will decide later after comprehensively considering the current locations of power utilities, impacts of just transition, residential and working conditions, and coordination with the second phase of public institution relocation policy.
Legal framework and integration timeline
The government will pursue enactment of a special law to implement the integration of the five public enterprises stably and swiftly. The special law will include the legal basis for establishing Korea Power Corporation, deemed approval of permits and licences related to power generation business, succession of rights, obligations and employment contracts of existing companies, streamlined merger procedures, and tax burden relief. The government will also examine provisions for exemption from merger review to enable swift and smooth integration. The government plans to enact the special law within the regular National Assembly session this year.
Preparation work necessary for actual integration will proceed in parallel with law enactment. The government will establish an Integration Preparatory Committee chaired by the second vice minister of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment in September, and will operate a working support team comprising the five Gencos, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and field specialists. The five Gencos will jointly commission post-merger integration consulting to conduct specialized review in accounting, law, taxation, and information technology.
After enactment of the special law, an Integration Promotion Committee based on the law will assume the duties of the Integration Preparatory Committee and proceed with full-scale integration procedures. Following approximately one year of intensive integration preparation, the government plans to complete corporate registration and executive appointment in September 2027 and officially launch Korea Power Corporation on October 1, 2027.
The Korean Power Industry Workers' Federation requested three measures from the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment at the briefing: provision of substantial business volume that the company can actually execute as the primary implementer of energy transition, including significant expansion of public-led offshore wind projects; workforce development for energy transition projects, including establishment of a specialized power industry education institution such as an Energy Transition Talent Development Institute; and special recruitment quotas and total payroll exemptions for energy transition.
KWI developer profile — KEPCO
2 projects in Korea totalling 500 MW. Compiled from the KWI database. Not part of the source article.
Hanlim Offshore Wind
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Southwest Offshore Wind Phase 2
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Project data: KWI database — Electricity Business Licence records, EIA filings (ME2021C006), Electricity Regulatory Commission minutes, and pre-EBL permit filings.
