Kepco board nominates Cho Hwan-eik as new president

Cho Hwan-eik

The board of Korea’s state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) yesterday nominated a former vice commerce minister as its new president.

Cho Hwan-eik, 62, will replace Kim Joong-kyum, who stepped down shortly after offering his resignation last month following what observers called a confrontation with the government.

“Former Vice Minister Cho will soon begin his three-year term following official appointment by the president,” Kepco said in a statement.

Kepco, then under Kim’s leadership, sought to file a 4.4 trillion won ($4.1 billion) damage suit against the Korea Power Exchange, the state-run power distributor, and the government, claiming it has lost money because they set electricity rates below its costs.

The appointment of a new Kepco chief with only three months left before the end of the incumbent administration comes amid daily struggles by Kepco to maintain the country’s power reserves.

Unusually low temperatures continuously drove the power reserves to below the safe level of four million kilowatts last week.

Yonhap