[Exclusive] KEPCO Records Highest Ever 3,200 Employees with Annual Salaries Over 100 Million Won Last Year

Among 7 Employees, 1 Person
10.6% Increase Compared to Previous Year (2,972 People)
Deficit Period Also Increased by Up to 30%

Last year, the number of employees at Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) earning over 100 million won annually exceeded 3,200, marking an all-time high. Amid rapidly deteriorating financial health with accumulated debts exceeding 68.5 trillion won due to prolonged poor management, one out of every seven KEPCO employees receives a salary over 100 million won, drawing criticism for lax management.

According to the 'KEPCO Annual Profitability and Welfare Status' data obtained on the 27th through the office of Lee Ju-hwan, a member of the People Power Party, the number of KEPCO employees earning over 100 million won last year totaled 3,288, a 10.6% increase from the previous year (2,972). Last year, 14.1% of KEPCO’s total 23,281 employees were in this high salary bracket. ▷Related article on page 5

The number of employees earning over 100 million won increased steadily over the past five years, from 1,567 in 2017 to 1,752 in 2018, 2,395 in 2019, and 2,972 in 2020. Notably, even during the two consecutive years of 2018 and 2019, when KEPCO recorded net losses of 1.0952 trillion won and 2.595 trillion won respectively (separate basis), the number of employees earning over 100 million won increased by 11.8% and 36.7% respectively.

During the same period, the total number of employees rose by 8.3%, from 21,623 in 2017 to 23,425 as of this month. The average annual salary per employee increased from 82.42 million won in 2017 to 86.03 million won in 2020, then slightly decreased to 84.96 million won last year. Simple calculations estimate that annual personnel expenses amount to approximately 1.99 trillion won. However, the salary of the institution head decreased by nearly 100 million won, from 256.15 million won in 2017 to 159.6 million won last year.

While KEPCO’s employee count and personnel expenses increased, its management situation worsened. As of last year, KEPCO recorded a net loss of 5.6077 trillion won (separate basis), the largest ever, and debts totaling 68.5319 trillion won. The debt ratio stood at 145.7%. As of this month, the financial situation has further deteriorated, with net losses increasing to 6.4766 trillion won and debts rising to 78.341 trillion won. The debt ratio also surged vertically by 101.8 percentage points compared to 2017 (91.0%), reaching 192.8%.

KEPCO posted a record operating loss of 7.7869 trillion won in the first quarter of this year and projected that if there is no improvement in its financial structure, the deficit could exceed 20 trillion won by the end of the year. Accordingly, KEPCO requested the government to raise the fuel cost adjustment rate by 3 won per kWh for the third quarter (July to September), considering the rise in international oil prices compared to the previous quarter. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance will announce the third-quarter fuel cost adjustment rate applied to electricity rates this afternoon.

A KEPCO official stated, "Due to the nature of the work managing major transmission networks such as power transmission, transformation, and distribution 24 hours a day, there are many night and holiday workers who receive higher salaries than regular employees."