President Cho Hwan-eik of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) called for his workers to overcome challenges and brace for uncertainties in the months to come.
In his speech at a ceremony to kick off the 2017 business year at the KEPCO headquarters in Naju, Jeollanam-do on Jan. 2, KEPCO President Cho said, “A climate change deal in Paris in 2015 declared the end of the fossil fuel era, but as Trump was elected as U.S. president, fossil fuels are exacerbating uncertainties. A failure to overcome changes could lead to gridlocks or even extinction.”
The company may be faced with different challenges and demands if and when the Korean government changes, he added.
President Cho warned against “being complacent.” KEPCO was ranked 1st in the world in the power utility sector on a list of world-class companies selected by the U.S. magazine Forbes in 2016. Cho made it clear how KEPCO rose to top: European, U.S. and Asian utilities leaders made investments in advance, which are yet to be realized. He noted that KEPCO rose to the No. 1 position due to improving financial soundness.
Cho also stressed the importance of being responsive in communication. He called for collective intelligence in which co-prosperity can be evolved through cooperation and understanding to max out potential.
Looking back in 2016, President Cho expressed his own opinions concerning progressive electricity charges. He said it was the first time he was criticized by people since taking office in December 2012.
He was reelected for a one-year term last December. Cho said under no circumstances can anyone ignore the people’s will, and the demand to overhaul progressive electricity charges a few years ago has failed to be realized. The issue has finally been solved following a tricky process, he said, prompted by a public outcry over sultry heat that hit last summer, Cho recalled.
KEPCO Management, Labor Join Forces to Conduct Volunteer Activities on
KEPCO executives and staff members have begun conducting massive volunteer activities to help the underprivileged on the occasion of the Lunar New Year holiday.
KEPCO has designated two weeks — from Jan. 16 to Jan. 26 — as a period for conducting volunteer activities in cooperation with the federation of electricity trade unions. During the period, about 20,000 volunteers will participate in diverse activities ranging from delivering necessities to checking electric equipment at about 300 businesses across the nation.
KEPCO executives and trade union leaders visited the “Baekminwon,” a welfare facility for children located in Naju, and participated in volunteer activities ranging from making food on the occasion of the Lunar New Year; counseling inmates’ on their future course; teaching computer classes; and repairing electric devices to install photovoltaic power emergency lights on Jan. 16. On the same day, KEPCO purchased 150 bags of rice, products from the Naju area and gave out them away to the underprivileged, including elderly folks living alone, and parentless households with the elderly aged 65 and up, to help them spend the traditional holiday in a festive fashion.
President Cho picked Chinese saying “yeonggwa hujin,” meaning that “water begins to flow anew after filling up a hole,” as the business buzzwords for this. He said his company would strive to promote collaboration with the regional district and put into practice neighborhood love with a mindset of the Chinese adage.
The KEPCO volunteer initiative was established in May 2004 under the catchphrase “Lights to the World and Love to Neighbors.”
KEPCO rank-and-file chips in part of their payroll to donate to neighbors.
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