Gyeongsangnam-do Province has launched a bid to host the integrated headquarters of state-run power generation companies, aiming to develop western Gyeongnam into the center of Korea's energy industry.
The provincial government signed a business agreement with Jinju City and the Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) labor union on Wednesday to attract the integrated headquarters of state-run power generation companies to the Gyeongnam Innovation City. The move establishes a joint response system between local government and labor as the central government simultaneously pursues a second round of public institution relocations and discussions on consolidating power generation companies.
The parties said they would launch a campaign to attract the integrated headquarters, citing the Gyeongnam Innovation City as the optimal location based on its concentrated power-related industrial infrastructure and superior residential conditions.
The agreement goes beyond a simple declaration of intent, laying the groundwork for a preemptive response to shifts in national energy policy and for restructuring the regional industrial landscape. It emphasizes a "just energy transition" as a core task amid the expansion of renewable energy and carbon neutrality policies, while simultaneously pursuing stronger industrial competitiveness and job creation.
The main points of the agreement include cooperation to bring the integrated headquarters to Gyeongnam in the event of a power company merger, realizing a just energy transition based on renewable energy, and joint policy planning and response to strengthen regional industrial competitiveness. The agreement is significant in that the parties will jointly pursue institutional and policy responses to ensure that the regional industrial ecosystem is not left behind during the energy transition.
The province expects that hosting the integrated headquarters of state-run power generation companies will revitalize the western Gyeongnam economy and accelerate the implementation of national energy transition policies.
Gyeongnam Province also plans to intensify policy recommendations and public relations activities targeting the central government and the National Assembly to highlight the justification for hosting the headquarters. Regarding the second round of public institution relocations being pursued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the province intends to continuously emphasize Gyeongnam's strengths in industrial infrastructure, transportation networks, and residential and educational conditions to expand its influence in the policy decision-making process.
"We signed this agreement to respond preemptively, as the government is expected to finalize its second public institution relocation plan in the second half of the year, with discussions on integrating power generation companies proceeding in parallel," Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su said. "We will contribute to national industrial development by realizing a just energy transition based on renewable energy, and we will definitely bring the integrated headquarters of power generation companies to Gyeongnam to inject new vitality into the western Gyeongnam economy."
Governor Park added, "We will concentrate all our capabilities so that Gyeongnam can lead the pressing tasks of our time — creating quality jobs and achieving balanced national development."
