Full of Hope and Pride
President Chung Jang-sup enumerates his plan to make Komipo first-rate power firm in world

President Chung Jang-sup of Korea Midland Power Co. said he feels a great pride as well as responsibility to be president and CEO of the power company, which is at the center of the power industry in Korea. He said plans to keep the company running well producing and supplying a good-quality power to the people in keeping with the tradition of the company which has drawn a great attention with the government decision to supply power to North Korea. The new CEO said he will try to expand the company's cooperative ties with foreign power companies and engage in exploitation of coal mines in Australia and Indonesia. Following are the excerpts from an interview with President Chung Jang-sup of the Korea Midland Power Co.
Question: What is your thought on your appointment as head of Korea Midland Power Co.?
Answer: I feel a great responsibility for work I have to do to cope with various changes in the power industry that occur very often after taking over the helm of KOMIPO, which is at the center of our nation's power industry.
KOMIPO has achieved much results both at home and abroad in the four short years of its existence and during the process, it has built a base for its long-term growth. The power company's position has been growing bigger now that the government has decided to supply power to North Korea, drawing much public attention to the power industry. KOMIPO achieved an eye-popping growth through its efforts and sincere attitude, winning a wide recognition. However, we are fully aware of the fact that we will have to be ever alert for changing management environment to continue to grow.
Q: What? the company's vision and management guidelines?
A: Our vision is to become a top rated firm in the world full of hopes and pride. We set up the vision to make our future society affluent and beautiful. This is our will to keep a close watch on environment by supplying a superior quality energy sources to our customers in line with market principles and changes in the power market.
What we meant by "hope an pride" is through the development of technology and management reform, we will try to maximize our business values so that all parties concerned including customers, employees, shareholders, investors and local residents could have expectations and hopes.
To achieve such a vision, we set up as our reform target to be a world first-rate comprehensive energy firm with strengthened transparent management under a slogan, "Power Up, Cost Down,"and promote our reform activities strongly.
In order to lead KOMIPO in an effective manner, we have adopted "harmonious organization, creative future, and trusty management"as our management policy objectives. We thought about a group of geese in the sky heading toward a far-away destination when we made up the words, "harmonious organization"as one of our management objectives. They make sounds when they fly to encourage each other, we heard.
"Creation of Future"meant that we have to jump over what we have already achieved and head for the future with hopes and dreams.
We have to pursue continuous changes and reform, while strengthening the technological capacity to become a first-rate company in the world. The company will also tackle various challenges in the areas of developing new energy sources as well as reusable energy and overseas operations to create our future with new profitable business ventures so that we may have a solid base of dramatic jump and continuous development.
"Trusty Management"meant that a business enterprise should have a rationale responsibility and duty like a mature individual. Every one working for the company should have a clear ethical manner and strive to make business processes and systems transparent to the extent that the company will be a clean and trustworthy one.
Q: What are the company's important plans for the second half?
A: First, we will continue to pursue management reform in the second half. KOMIPO will strengthen its management system through the "JB Power Vision 2008" to improve its operation by maximizing its organizational capacity. The company has four major reform strategies such as the creation of future growth sources and brandishing the company's image as a customer and environment-friendly enterprise, which helped the company to win the top winner prize at the reform result competition held for affiliates under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy that took place in December last year.
Second, we plan to raise the effective operation of its old power generation facilities by strengthening the management to extend their lives. The company plans to extend the lives of Boryeong Nos.1 and 2 generators and expand their capacities and the company will also consider the same measures for its Seoul and Incheon thermal power stations, which are aged.
In order to cope with the Kyoto Protocol, the company will draw up a mid to long-term strategies, along with a plan to engage in developing clean energy sources.
Third, the company will set up a plan to support SMEs. The company already has a plan to help those small companies one by one, especially in the areas of the exploration of overseas markets, R&D efforts, technology development and public relations The company will expand the purchase of their products, along with more chances for them to undertake public projects and other works. The company will also give extra points to SMEs that hire disabled persons and women and give their products priority in purchasing.
Fourth, KOMIPO will pursue the development of Blue Ocean strategic businesses.
The company will build wind power stations possibly at seven locations around the country including Yanggu, Gangwon Province. The company has been engaged in developing batteries and biogas power plants jointly with the Korea Electric Power Corp.(KEPCO). The company plans to make inroads into the power generation industries in India and Indonesia, which have abundant energy resources, along with a plan to engage in coal mining in Australia and Indonesia. The company also plans to expand its cooperative relations with the power generation authorities in Lybia and Kuwait. The company will also hold a stake in a power station construction in China and its operation in cooperation with KEPCO.
Q: What are your plans to cope with high energy prices and save energy?
A: KOMIPO has a plan to save energy by boosting the effective use of energy amid rising oil prices and the international competition to secure natural resources in the world. The plan also calls for reducing power generation costs through the rationale use of energy to make KOMIPO a leader in the area of energy saving.
Q: Are there any other things you want to say to give advises and ask for cooperation from our readers?
A: We have been hearing that many have trouble making both ends meet due to the sluggish economic conditions in the past several years. Fortunately, however, there have been signs that the economy will improve, giving us hope. KOMIPO is an entity that supplies power to the people through the KEPCO. I feel a great pride as well as responsibility to keep KOMIPO running well as its president. I will try to supply a good quality and inexpensive power to ease the lives of the people and work hard on preserving environment by building and operating environment-friendly power stations. KOMIPO will also try to expand its social service to do its social responsibility. I hope people would realize that good quality power supply has been behind the fantastic economic development in the past several decades. I would like to ask for much understanding and cooperation from the point that national development can be realized through the vitalization of public interest businesses of the state including the power industry. nw

Chung Jang-sup, president-CEO of Korea Midland Power Co.

(right) KOMIPO?Boryeong Thermal Power Plant
(below) Korea Midland Power Co. President Chung Jang-sup receives the Grand Prize for Standardization, Presidential Award, from Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Lee Hee-beom during a prize-awarding ceremony honoring World Standards Day.