Need for Rational
Energy Policies

New CEO of KEMCO Lee calls for energy conservation and other creative measures to fight high energy prices

President Lee Tae-yong of the Korea Energy Management Corp. said the only short term solution to energy problems is conservation, as it is like the production of energy.
The new CEO of the KEMCO said everyone should focus on reducing CO2 emissions during his first meeting with reporters following his inauguration.
"Savings is the energy that can be used readily,"declared Lee.
He went on to say that he decided to save energy at his office by keeping the room temperature above 28C all the time, although the official temperature at public buildings is set at 27C.
He also changed his official sedan from the Chairman to the hybrid Verna to save on fuel costs.
Lee said he will steer the company to focus on various measures directed at energy savings, coping with climate change and the development of new energies. He also said KEMCO will join the public campaign to revive the economy launched jointly by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Maeil Business Newspaper in May of this year.
Beginning Aug. 15, the 60th National Liberation Day, KEMCO will kick off its "Carbon Neutral Campaign"and start awarding certificates and the Carbon Neutral Mark to individuals and organizations that participate in the campaign designed to reduce CO2 in our daily lives.
KEMCO will launch the "Carbon Cash Back"program as a key event in the public campaign to revive the economy. The carbon cash back program is designed to award free mileage to those who buy highly effective energy-saving products so that it can be applied to public transportation. Enterprises can launch an energy-saving business under the carbon cash back program.
The CEO, who earned a master's degree at the University of California at Berkley, and a former official of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, said he also plans to change the name of KEMCO during his term of office. The new name, he said, should reflect the change of times so that the organization may be able to quickly cope with various challenges.
He said KEMCO should be able to take charge of various government policies for saving energy and creating a new advanced energy culture as called for in this day and age.
Every official and staff member of the corporation should do their best in the united effort to successfully promote various policies for rational energy consumption, Lee said.
He called on them to be responsible for carrying out their assigned work based on changes in attitudes, reform and harmony, adding that the company is in a difficult environment both internally and externally. He also called for the successful implementation of rational energy policies.
The CEO said he will create a team spirit in which the management values the interests of customers first and can move the customers with creative reform, result oriented management and an excitable management, producing a synergy between competition and cooperation.
He said the economy is at a crossroads, which will decide whether the country will continue to push forward to be among the advanced nations or crash to be just another country in the periphery of those nations.
Korea currently imports 97 percent of its energy needs, making the economic frame very weak. High oil prices will bring stagflation, making economic measures to revitalize the economy impossible.
"Therefore, in the short-term, we have to take measures to save energy use by rationing its consumption to stabilize consumer prices. Then, we have to have a policy mix that will include such factors as technology development, revitalization of facility investment, deregulation and the reestablishment of law and order,"Lee said. nw

President Lee Tae-yong of KEMCO.