Hadong-gun Mayor Kim Hyun-su (right) and Korea Southern Power Co. President Kim Jun-dong sign a mutual cooperation agreement on energy transition and regional coexistence at Korea Southern Power's headquarters in Busan on Thursday. [Hadong-gun]
Hadong-gun Mayor Kim Hyun-su (right) and Korea Southern Power Co. President Kim Jun-dong sign a mutual cooperation agreement on energy transition and regional coexistence at Korea Southern Power's headquarters in Busan on Thursday. [Hadong-gun]

Hadong-gun in South Gyeongsang Province and Korea Southern Power Co. have agreed to work together to attract a pumped-storage hydropower plant and build a liquefied natural gas combined-cycle power station, aiming to cushion the economic blow from the planned closure of the Hadong coal-fired power plant.

Hadong-gun Mayor Kim Hyun-su and Korea Southern Power President Kim Jun-dong signed a "mutual cooperation agreement on energy transition and regional coexistence" at the company's headquarters in Busan on Thursday. The agreement aims to mount a joint response to the economic contraction and job losses expected from the coal plant closure, and to lay the groundwork for a shift to a carbon-free, eco-friendly energy system.

Under the agreement, the two sides will cooperate across five areas: attracting a pumped-storage hydropower plant and constructing an LNG combined-cycle power station; pursuing designation of Hadong-gun as a "just transition special district"; developing a relocation complex for residents displaced by the pumped-storage project and supporting their compensation; turning pumped-storage facilities into tourism assets to revitalize the local economy; and running support programs for communities near the power plants.

At the signing, Mayor Kim stressed the need for alternative energy projects to replace the Hadong coal plant and asked Korea Southern Power to actively support efforts to have Okjong-myeon in Hadong-gun selected as the final candidate site in the new pumped-storage hydropower plant competition.

"We will work closely with Korea Southern Power to ensure that local communities and residents are not left behind in the energy transition," Kim said. "We will push ahead without delay on attracting the pumped-storage plant and building the LNG combined-cycle power station to create a new foundation for regional growth."

Earlier, Kim toured the proposed pumped-storage plant site in Okjong-myeon with Korea Southern Power officials on July 9, then visited the Hadong Bitdeurim headquarters on Tuesday to inspect the site earmarked for the LNG combined-cycle power station.


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