"South Chungcheong Is the Best Location for the Integrated Power Headquarters"... Four Chungcheong Cities and Provinces Issue Joint Statement

[Financial News | Hongseong = Kim Won-jun, Reporter] The four Chungcheong cities and provinces have joined forces to bring the integrated headquarters of the power-generation companies to South Chungcheong Province, in line with the government's plan to integrate five state-run power-generation companies.
South Chungcheong Province held the first Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance Council meeting with Daejeon Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Self-Governing City and Chungcheongbuk-do at Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan on the 17th. The participants adopted the "Joint Statement by the Four Chungcheong Mayors and Provincial Governors on Establishing the Integrated Headquarters of the Power-Generation Companies in South Chungcheong Province." Attendees included South Chungcheong Governor Park Soo-hyun, Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong, Sejong Mayor Cho Sang-ho and Chungcheongbuk-do Governor Shin Yong-han.
In the statement, they said, "Amid the historic challenges of responding to the climate crisis and making a major transition to a carbon-free power-generation system, selecting the site for the integration of the five power-generation companies into a single corporation tentatively named 'Korea Power' is a critical issue that will determine the success or failure of future energy security and balanced national growth." They particularly pointed out that the site for the integrated headquarters remains uncertain despite the enactment of the Special Act on Support for Coal-Fired Power Plant Workers and Areas Affected by the Phaseout of Coal-Fired Power Plants. They emphasized that South Chungcheong Province is the optimal location as a power-supply hub linked to the Seoul metropolitan area's power grid and as a place to realize a just transition.
South Chungcheong Province has pursued a multifaceted campaign to attract the integrated headquarters. Since July, Governor Park Soo-hyun has successively met with the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, leaders of the ruling and opposition parties, and the prime minister to request that the headquarters be established in South Chungcheong Province. In parallel, all lawmakers representing the province have issued a statement urging the move, while the South Chungcheong-Sejong Regional Headquarters of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions has signed an agreement to support the bid, with local support continuing to gather strength.
The four mayors and provincial governors of the Chungcheong region said, "Establishing the integrated headquarters in South Chungcheong Province is the starting point for achieving both the implementation of national energy policy and balanced development," and strongly urged the government and the National Assembly to promptly finalize the establishment of the headquarters in South Chungcheong Province in line with the legislative intent of supporting areas affected by the phaseout of coal-fired power.
Meanwhile, 29 of the 59 coal-fired power plant units nationwide—more than half—are concentrated in South Chungcheong Province. With phased closures scheduled under the government's coal phaseout and carbon-neutrality roadmap, bringing the integrated headquarters to South Chungcheong Province is viewed as a model of a just transition that could ease the regional economic downturn and employment insecurity caused by the closure of the power plants.
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter