Twenty-one major business and industry groups, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea International Trade Association, voiced unanimous support for the government's plan to introduce region-based electricity rates for industrial users.
In a joint statement on the 26th, the groups said power demand is surging on the growth of artificial intelligence and advanced industries, while difficulties in the national power supply are mounting due to demand concentration in the greater Seoul area and delays in building transmission networks. The groups said the regional pricing scheme and the broader downward trend in rates will help ease burdens, spur investment and promote balanced regional development, at a time when recent sharp increases in industrial electricity rates have been eroding corporate competitiveness.
The business community urged swift implementation so that the effects reach industrial sites early, noting that electricity rates directly affect corporate production and investment activity. The groups also called for parallel policies for balanced regional development — including deregulation, support for living conditions and expanded infrastructure — if the benefits are to carry through to the success of mega-projects and the nurturing of national strategic industries.
The joint statement was signed by 21 organizations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Enterprises Federation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea, the Korea Iron and Steel Association, the Korea Chemical Industry Association, the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, the Korea Battery Industry Association, the Korea Automobile and Mobility Association and the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association.
Separately, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and KEPCO held a public hearing on the regional industrial electricity pricing scheme the same day at KEPCO's Southwest Seoul headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. They unveiled a design that divides the country into four regional blocs — the northern and southern parts of the greater Seoul area, the central region and the southern region — and differentiates rates according to power self-sufficiency, transmission costs and balanced growth factors. Under the plan, industrial electricity rates would fall by 13 to 18 won in the southern region, by 10 to 15 won, or 5% to 8%, in the central region covering Chungcheong and Gangwon, and by 6 to 10 won, or 3% to 8%, in the northern part of the greater Seoul area.
