KEPCO Sells 'Prime Real Estate' at Bargain Price... 170 Billion Won Loss

Jeong Il-young, Office of the Democratic Party of Korea
"Hasty Sale Causes Loss to the People and Government"

Korea Electric Power Corporation

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] It has been confirmed that Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) plans to sell prime real estate in the Seoul metropolitan area and Jeju region at a loss exceeding 170 billion KRW.

According to the innovation plan submitted by KEPCO to the office of Jeong Il-young, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, KEPCO plans to secure an additional 500 billion KRW by selling 27 real estate assets including the Uijeongbu Substation.

The plan also includes selling key real estate assets in the metropolitan area and Jeju region, such as the Seoul Distribution Station (7.5 billion KRW), Susaek Substation (8.1 billion KRW), Gyeonggi Northern Headquarters building (13 billion KRW), and Jeju Power Branch Office (3.4 billion KRW), all for a total of 32 billion KRW.

The problem is that all the listed sale prices are far below the average land transaction prices in those areas. Some have pointed out that KEPCO may be rushing to sell these properties at a steep loss of over 100 billion KRW due to government demands to improve its financial structure.

The Seoul Distribution Station is estimated to have a land value of over 17.333 billion KRW alone. Considering KEPCO’s planned sale price of 7.5 billion KRW, this means a loss of about 10 billion KRW by selling at a bargain price.

The Susaek Substation located in Susaek-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, is estimated to have a land value of 143.927 billion KRW. Based on KEPCO’s planned sale price of 8.1 billion KRW, the company would incur a loss exceeding 135.8 billion KRW.

Additionally, the Gyeonggi Northern Headquarters building should be sold for between 27.2 billion KRW and 40.7 billion KRW based on surrounding land transaction prices, but KEPCO plans to sell it for 13 billion KRW in the second half of next year. This would result in a loss ranging from 14.2 billion KRW to as much as 27.7 billion KRW.

Assemblyman Jeong Il-young said, "Concerns that KEPCO would sell assets at bargain prices due to pressure from asset restructuring plans are becoming a reality," adding, "Hasty sales of real estate located in key areas to resolve capital erosion will only cause losses to the public and the government."

In response, KEPCO stated, "The planned sale prices are estimates based on publicly announced land prices submitted to the government," and added, "When the actual sale occurs, an external appraisal agency will conduct an appraisal, and the properties will be sold through a public competitive bidding process to the highest bidder."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.