[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 8th that although the partial amendment to the Korea Electric Power Corporation Act (KEPCO Act) was rejected at the National Assembly plenary session, it plans to promptly reinitiate the amendment.
The partial amendment to the KEPCO Act includes increasing the issuance limit of Korea Electric Power's corporate bonds (KEPCO bonds) from the current 2 times to up to 6 times. The bill passed through the relevant standing committees, the Industry, Trade, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, after bipartisan agreement, but was rejected in the plenary vote with 89 votes in favor, 61 against, and 53 abstentions out of 203 members present.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "The amendment is an essential bill for normalizing KEPCO's management and stabilizing power supply," adding, "If the law is not amended, it will result in a violation of the law, making the amendment urgent," and clarified, "There is no intention to issue a large-scale new bond additionally."
According to the ministry, the outstanding balance of KEPCO bonds by the end of this year (approximately 72 trillion won) is expected to exceed the current legal issuance limit (approximately 40 trillion won, twice the sum of capital and reserves).
The ministry stated, "Considering the urgency of normalizing electricity rates and expanding the KEPCO bond issuance limit, we plan to promptly pursue the amendment of the Korea Electric Power Corporation Act again within a short period."
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