KEPCO narrowly avoids illegality... Bill passed allowing bond issuance up to 6 times maximum

175 out of 199 Representative Jaeseok Members
Approved with 87.9% Support
5 Standing Committee Chairs Elected for Ruling Party

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong and Kim Youngwon] On the 28th, the ruling and opposition parties held a plenary session and passed non-contentious bills including the amendment bills to the Korea Electric Power Corporation Act (KEPCO Act) and the Korea Gas Corporation Act. As a result, KEPCO's corporate bond issuance limit will be expanded from the existing double to up to six times, and Korea Gas Corporation's limit will increase from four times to five times.

The National Assembly held a plenary session that day and resolved a total of 32 agenda items, including 20 bills. The KEPCO Act was passed with 175 votes in favor (87.9%) out of 199 members present. There were 4 opposing votes and 20 abstentions. The Gas Corporation Act was also passed with 175 votes in favor, 4 against, and 20 abstentions out of 199 members present.

The current KEPCO Act stipulates that the amount of corporate bonds KEPCO can issue is limited to within twice the sum of its capital and reserves. For Korea Gas Corporation, the limit is within four times. Recently, as fuel prices such as oil have risen, concerns arose that the amount of corporate bonds issued to raise insufficient funds might exceed the issuance limit.

The amended law includes provisions to increase the corporate bond issuance limit for KEPCO and Korea Gas Corporation to five times the total amount. In particular, KEPCO can issue bonds up to six times the total amount with the approval of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to resolve management crisis situations. When such approval is granted, a report must be submitted to the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly.

Additionally, the amended law specifies the obligation for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KEPCO to strive to minimize bond issuance and improve financial conditions. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy will oversee and supervise matters related to bond issuance.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Alongside this, the bill on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes and others expanded the legal definition of 'stalking' to encompass both 'stalking acts' and 'stalking crimes.' Victims are defined as 'persons who have suffered direct harm from stalking.' To prevent disadvantages against those reporting victimization, specific terms such as 'disadvantageous measures related to status' and 'unfair personnel actions' were explicitly stated.

Other bills processed included the amendment to the Employment Insurance Act introducing 'non-face-to-face unemployment reporting' and the amendment to the Act on Support for Veterans and Patriots to extend support for nursing facilities to disabled veterans injured in disasters.

Meanwhile, in the plenary session that day, five standing committee chairpersons allocated to the ruling party were elected: the Planning and Finance Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, National Defense Committee, Administration and Security Committee, and Intelligence Committee. Yoon Youngseok was elected chair of the Planning and Finance Committee, Kim Taeho for the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Han Kiho for the National Defense Committee, Jang Je-won for the Administration and Security Committee, and Park Deokheum for the Intelligence Committee.

The terms of the newly elected standing committee chairpersons will run from January next year until the end of the 21st National Assembly term on May 29, 2024. However, for the Administration and Security Committee chair, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to alternate annually, so the People Power Party will hold the position only until the end of May next year, after which it will be transferred to the Democratic Party. Conversely, the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee chair will be held by the People Power Party.

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