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| Cho Hwan-eik, KEPCO CEO |
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| Lee Kwan-sup, KHNP CEO |
The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and its affiliated state-run enterprises will donate 80 billion ($70 million) to help fund the PyeongChang Olympics, following President Moon Jae-in's recent remarks calling on public firms to do more for the event.
They had previously remained reluctant to give money for the Olympics after Choi Soon-sil, a friend of disgraced former President Park Geun-hye, was found to have used the upcoming event to extract money from companies.
For the same reason, Samsung, Hyundai Motor and other large business groups have opted to stay away from the world's biggest winter sporting event, making it difficult for the organizing committee to secure the necessary funding.
Korea Gas Corp. and other public enterprises are expected to follow KEPCO's latest move, setting one more precedent that the government, regardless of whoever occupies Cheong Wa Dae, mobilizes state-run organizations to achieve its policy goals.
KEPCO, headed by CEO Cho Hwan-eik, said Tuesday it held a meeting Aug. 17 with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), five power companies and four other affiliates, and reached a consensus that the 11 entities will give 80 billion won to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympics Games (POCOG).
KEPCO will pay 40 billion won, with KHNP, headed by CEO Lee Kwan-sup, bearing 12 billion won.
In addition, Korea South-East Power, Korea Southern Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea East-West Power and Korea Western Power will shoulder 5 billion won each. KEPCO KPS will pay 1.5 billion won, and KEPCO E&C, KEPCO Nuclear Fuel and KEPCO Knowledge Data Network 500 million won each.
Besides infrastructure investments, the POCOG estimates that running the Olympics will cost as much as 2.8 trillion won. But it has so far secured 2.5 trillion won.
"We are glad to be able to contribute to the successful hosting of the PyeongChang Olympics," a KEPCO official said. "This sponsorship is part of our expanding corporate social responsibility programs. We will do our best to ensure energy-related facilities at the Olympics venues run smoothly."
A KHNP official said the company decided to donate 12 billion won to the organizing committee.
"We will provide the funds to help make Korea's first Winter Olympic Games one of the most successful events ever," the official said.
However, this sudden change of attitude is fueling speculations that KEPCO and its affiliates may have been pressured by the Moon administration to support the Olympic Games.
Over the past year, the companies had turned a deaf eye to repeated pleas from the organizing committee for financial support. Lee Hee-beom, chairman of the POCOG, had met with bureaucrats and heads of public enterprises to ask for monetary and other support, but to little avail.
But the tide turned in Lee's favor on July 24 when President Moon attended a ceremony marking 200 days remaining before the Olympics kicks off. At the time, Moon urged state-run enterprises to more actively support the Games.
Four days later, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also called on public companies to mobilize more resources to sponsor the sporting event.
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