KEPCO's Stepped-up
Global Presence

Power supplier plans to make a quantum leap as a global company

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has summed up its 2008 management plan with the catchphrase "Growth as a Global Company through Overseas Business."KEPCO is taking to heart the reality that it has no options but to turn to overseas markets since the domestic market is saturated and increasingly opening to outside competition, coupled with a rapidly changing business environment through globalization and informatization.
KEPCO Chairman-CEO Lee Won-gul told his executives and staff, "We have to expand our connection with the world through continuous challenge and a pioneering spirit. You are behind the move."In his New Year's message Lee said that the business environment has undergone dramatic changes in the wake of globalization and informatization, and now that the domestic market has reached maturity and is increasingly opening its doors to outside competition, KEPCO will have to focus on overseas markets.
"Ten odd years have passed since our company entered the foreign market to explore new growth engines.
In a short period of time we have made significant achievements, but we still have high and perilous mountains to surmount,"Lee said.
"KEPCO needs to further accelerate its achievements in the Philippines and China and develop a long-term strategy to diversify into markets in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa."Lee stressed the need for aggressively pushing package deals linked to the development of natural resources and construction of infrastructure, its entry into the foreign nuclear power market tied to the development of uranium and a further step to secure a bridgehead in the advanced nuclear power market through M&As.
He noted that, lately, environmental issues have emerged as a subject of conversation in the global economic community, shifting the industrial paradigm. In an effort to brace for the change, he said, KEPCO will have to continuously pursue efforts to rationalize energy uses in order to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, while implementing new projects under the mechanisms of the international pacts on climate change as well as expand its investments in futuristic, environment-friendly technologies.
Besides, he said, during 2008 KEPCO will accelerate its bid to secure six core electricity technologies, including Integrated Coal Gasification and Combined Cycle, and commercialize them in order to focus on strategic technology development for the creation of new growth engines. To this end, KEPCO will expand its R&D investments corresponding to the size of its sales and standing. Lee said he will do his best to ensure the efficiency of those investments.
"Corporate social responsibility shows a tendency to step up. The state and people have high expectations from KEPCO, the nation's largest public corporation. In keeping with public expectations, KEPCO will make sure to provide substantial assistance to SMEs, the roots of the national economy,"Lee said.
Looking back at 2007, Lee said, "We accomplished substantial feats last year: We ranked first for the second straight year in an evaluation of innovation among public organizations thanks to our constant and continuous management innovation efforts and we won the 2007 Korea Sustainability Management Grand Prize." "The strenuous and concerted effort of our entire staff to ensure ethical management has spread to all parts of the work site, so a completely corruption-free corporate culture has been established,"he said.
On the overseas front, he said, KEPCO has expanded its business horizons to businesses ranging from power transmission and distribution to the development of natural resources and has established a foundation to advance to all parts of the world. He described 2007 as a year when it made steady progress by establishing its overseas business master plan targeting the year 2015.
KEPCO did a good job in ensuring the supply of high-quality electricity, the fulfillment of its main responsibility.
"Not a single power outage was allowed during major national events like the presidential election and the FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007. The average equipment breakdown and outage decreased substantially during 2007, compared to the previous year. Power stoppage was reduced to about 18 minutes per household, setting an unprecedented world record,"Lee said. nw

KEPCO Chairman and CEO Lee Won-gul delivers a speech during a ceremony to launch 2008 at his headquarters office in Samseong-dong, Seoul. (right photo) KEPCO CEO Lee.