Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) President & CEO Choi Pyeong-rak said in his New Year message that KOMIPO executives and staff members are asked to innovate in every business area to the core and break the mold after designating the year 2014 as the first year of KOMIPO’s refounding.
Looking back at last year, Choi said KOMIPO achieved landmark feats: a record 5,000 consecutive days of trouble-free operation by Boryeong Thermal Unit 3; the launch of Seoul Combined Cycle Power Plant, an icon of the creative economy; the dedication of Sejong Co-generation Power Plant in the administrative city; and the relocation of Incheon Combined Cycle Power Unit 3.
CEO Choi urged them to have the guts to defy complacency or resting on their laurels of recent accomplishments to enhance global competitiveness, as Samsung Electronics has become what it is since Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s declaration of new management tenets in which he called for “changing the mold to the core — except for wives and children.”
Management conditions are worsening, as shown by the government’s policies to normalize public organizations, and public expectations toward public entities are mounting, he noted.
Choi said in an interview, “KOMIPO will shore up its management fundamentals by coming together with creative ideas.” Even though KOMIPO’s debt ratio stands at 106.7 percent as of November 2013 — which is still lower than the 200 percent cap set for public entities by the government — Choi said his company will push for management innovation, which will have an effect of improving the bottom line by 1.4 trillion won.
In particular, he said, KOMIPO will cut down on operating costs, including its executives’ and staff members’ wages while reviewing all projects the company has planned or implemented in the long-term perspective from scratch. To this end, an emergency management committee will be inaugurated. When it comes to projects in foreign countries, he said, those with tangible outcomes will be souped-up and new ones will be done in accordance with the principle of choice and concentration.
KOMIPO operates power plants with a combined capacity of 2,099 MW in foreign countries. They include coal-fired power units in Cirebon, Indonesia, and Tandung Jati, 300 km east of Jakarta, as well as a cogeneration power plant in Thailand. KOMIPO accounts for 9 percent of the electricity supply to the Indonesian island of Java.
KOMIPO racked up 96 billion in revenue from overseas power generation last year, and the revenues will likely rise to 118.1 billion won during this year. The company aims at raising its overseas power generation capacity to 6,000 MW and chalking up 500 billion won in sales by 2025.
Seoul Thermal Power Complex Promises to Emerge as Tourism Attraction
When it comes to its creative ideas, Choi cited KOMIPO’s project to change the Seoul Thermal Power Complex into an underground power plant-cum-prestige historical culture space.
The Seoul Combined Cycle Power Plant Project, which was launched last Septem-ber, calls for building two combined cycle power units with a combined electricity capacity of 800 MW and heating facilities with a capacity of 530 Gcal/h by December 2016.
Choi said KOMIPO could have built a ground power unit on the site of former Danginli Power Plant, the nation’s first thermal power unit, but the company accepted neighborhood residents’ opposition to the construction of such a power unit at the center of the capital and decided to make the new power unit underground and to add a culture, arts, and sports park for neighborhood residents on the surface.
The president said his company will continue to deliver a stable supply of electricity and residential heat in pursuit of its commitment to operating the so-called Republic of Korea Happiness Power Plants.
