Reviewing the Promotion of Social Dialogue on the Future of the Power Generation Industry Amid the Energy Transition Crisis

– February 3 (Tue): Chairman Kim Ji-hyung Meets with Stakeholders from Prime Contractors to Subcontractors and Subsidiaries to Hear Their Views –

On the morning of Tuesday, February 3, Kim Ji-hyung, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), visited the Hadong Bitdream Headquarters of Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd. (KOSPO) in Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do—a key site at the forefront of industrial restructuring resulting from the implementation of the coal phase-out policy. There, he held meetings with labor and management representatives from the power generation industry.

This field visit was arranged as a follow-up measure to a prior meeting between the ESLC and the Federation of Korean Public Industry Trade Unions (FKPU) under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). At their January 7 meeting, both sides agreed on the need for in-depth discussions and on-site consultations regarding key issues facing the power generation industry.

The Hadong Bitdream Headquarters, the site of the visit, is a core national power generation facility with a total capacity of 4,000 MW. Under the government’s energy transition roadmap, existing coal-fired power plants are being gradually phased out and converted to natural gas generation. As a result, the power generation industry has entered a phase of significant structural transformation.

Chair Kim began the day with a meeting involving labor and management representatives from major public power generation companies—Korea Southern Power, Korea East-West Power, and Korea Midland Power—and continued discussions with representatives from subcontractors and subsidiaries, listening broadly to voices from across the field.

Chair Kim stated, “The power generation industry is a key foundational industry that laid the groundwork for Korea’s industrialization, and this site is a livelihood base directly connected to the lives of countless workers and the regional economy.” He added, “While energy transition in response to the climate crisis is an unavoidable task, we will carefully examine whether solutions to the employment challenges facing the power generation sector during this period of structural transition can be found through tripartite social dialogue.”

Based on the need for social dialogue to mitigate risks during the transition period, the ESLC will continue reviewing the feasibility of promoting dialogue across various industries and sectors. It also plans to visit additional industrial sites to broadly gather the views of stakeholders.