Korea Electric Power Corp (015760)

Korea Electric Power Corporation (015760), or KEPCO, is Korea’s state-controlled utility and monopoly grid operator, the buyer behind the country’s AI power build-out with about 72.8 trillion won of transmission investment planned by 2038. In Q1 2026 it earned a record first-quarter operating profit of ₩3.78 trillion, its eleventh straight quarter of year-over-year improvement.

Ticker015760
ExchangeKOSPI
SectorUtilities · Electric Utility
CountrySouth Korea
Held by ETFRISE AI Electricity Infrastructure ETF (0101N0)
WikidataQ486737
Last updated2026-06-10
Financial snapshotas of2026-06-10

Next event:Next report · H1 2026 반기보고서 (semi-annual report), estimated · Estimated from Korea's 45-day semi-annual filing deadline; not company-confirmed. Last report: Q1 2026 결산 발표 2026-05-13, 분기보고서 filed 2026-05-15. (source)

Latest reported quarter:Q1 2026 (ended Mar 31, 2026) (reported2026-05-13)

KEPCO reported consolidated Q1 2026 revenue of ₩24.40 trillion, up 0.7% year over year, and operating profit of ₩3.78 trillion, up 0.8%, its eleventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement and a first-quarter record. Net income rose 6.7% to ₩2.52 trillion. Fuel-price effects from the Middle East war are expected to land from Q2.

Revenue₩24.40조 (KRW 24,399 billion)+0.7%YoY
Operating profit₩3.78조 (KRW 3,784 billion)+0.8%YoY · 11th consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement
Net income₩2.52조 (KRW 2,519 billion)+6.7%YoY
Total debt₩206조 (KRW 206 trillion) · Borrowings ₩128 trillion; daily interest cost ₩11.4 billion

Primary source

Revenue by segment

Electricity sales (KEPCO parent)₩23.71조 (KRW 23,709 billion) · 65.6%of revenue
Nuclear generation (KHNP)₩3.92조 (KRW 3,916 billion) · 10.8%of revenue
Thermal generation (five GENCOs)₩7.16조 (KRW 7,157 billion) · 19.8%of revenue
Other (engineering, KPS, nuclear fuel, ICT)₩1.37조 (KRW 1,369 billion) · 3.8%of revenue

Recent & upcoming events

  • · Q1 2026 분기보고서 filed.Confirmed consolidated Q1 revenue of ₩24.40 trillion, operating profit of ₩3.78 trillion, and net income of ₩2.52 trillion, with total debt of ₩206.4 trillion at quarter-end. (source)
  • · Q1 2026 results: 11th straight quarter of improvement.Operating profit rose ₩30.6 billion year over year to ₩3.78 trillion as fuel costs rose 4.1% but purchased-power costs fell; KEPCO warned Middle East war fuel-price effects would hit from Q2. (source)
  • · Time-of-use tariff system redesigned.Announced a reform of seasonal and time-of-use electricity tariffs to shift demand toward solar-rich daytime hours and ease curtailment, effective from March 16, 2026. (source)
  • · FY2025 results: record ₩13.52 trillion operating profit.Reported full-year 2025 revenue of ₩97.43 trillion and operating profit of ₩13.52 trillion, up ₩5.16 trillion (61.7%) from 2024 and the largest in its history, on stable fuel prices and 2024 tariff adjustments. (source)

Consolidated results are from KEPCO's official Q1 2026 and FY2025 results releases and the DART 분기보고서. Segment revenue is the simple sum before intercompany eliminations; consolidated revenue nets to ₩24.40 trillion.

Figures are as of 2026-06-10 and reflect the most recent public filings/IR releases; they are updated after each earnings report.

What does KEPCO do?

KEPCO is the spine of Korea’s electricity system. The parent company owns and operates the national transmission and distribution network and sells essentially all retail electricity in the country, a business that generated ₩23.71 trillion of segment revenue in Q1 2026 across residential, commercial, and industrial tariffs (DART 분기보고서). Generation sits in its subsidiaries: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power produced ₩3.92 trillion of Q1 revenue, five thermal GENCOs ₩7.16 trillion, and engineering, maintenance, nuclear-fuel, and ICT units another ₩1.37 trillion, which consolidates to ₩24.40 trillion after intercompany eliminations (DART). Because tariffs are government-regulated, KEPCO’s margin is policy as much as operations: it redesigned its seasonal and time-of-use tariff structure on March 16, 2026 to push demand into solar-rich daytime hours (DART).

How is AI driving KEPCO’s business?

AI shows up at KEPCO as load growth and a construction order book. The IEA projects global data-center electricity demand will more than double from about 415 TWh in 2024 to around 945 TWh by 2030 (IEA), and Korea’s slice of that build-out is concrete: SK Group and AWS are constructing a roughly 7 trillion won, 103 MW AI data center in Ulsan with gigawatt-class ambitions (KED Global). KEPCO’s answer is the largest grid program in its history, about 72.8 trillion won ($53.1 billion) of transmission investment by 2038, including HVDC routes into the capital region and a substation complex feeding 10 GW or more to the Yongin semiconductor cluster (Korea Times). Its CEO frames the stakes directly:

“The core of advanced-industry competitiveness is a high-quality, stable power supply. Innovating the rules and processes of grid construction to build the energy highway quickly is urgent.”

— Kim Dong-cheol, President & CEO, KEPCO, 2026 New Year address (Aju Business Daily, January 2, 2026)

That spending is what makes KEPCO the demand anchor of the Korea AI Power Infrastructure concept: every transformer, cable, and switchgear order flows to the equipment makers around it.

What did KEPCO report most recently?

In Q1 2026 (the quarter ended March 31, 2026), KEPCO posted consolidated revenue of ₩24.40 trillion, up 0.7% year over year, and operating profit of ₩3.78 trillion, up ₩30.6 billion or 0.8%, the eleventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement; net income rose 6.7% to ₩2.52 trillion (KEPCO results release, DART 분기보고서). Electricity-sales revenue was roughly flat at +0.1%, while subsidiary fuel costs rose 4.1% and purchased-power costs fell 0.4%; on a standalone basis operating profit improved ₩185.8 billion to ₩2.1 trillion (KEPCO). The quarter extends a dramatic turnaround: full-year 2025 operating profit was a record ₩13.52 trillion, up 61.7% from ₩8.36 trillion in 2024, on revenue of ₩97.43 trillion (KEPCO FY2025 release).

What is KEPCO’s outlook?

KEPCO issues no numeric guidance, and its own release names the swing factor: oil and LNG price spikes from the Middle East war that began in late February 2026 were not yet reflected in Q1 fuel costs and are expected to hit results and funding with a lag from Q2 onward (KEPCO). The balance sheet limits the cushion. Consolidated debt stands at ₩206 trillion with ₩128 trillion of borrowings costing ₩11.4 billion in interest every day, even after the accumulated standalone deficit was cut from ₩47.8 trillion at end-2023 to ₩34.0 trillion and standalone borrowings from ₩89.6 trillion to ₩83.1 trillion (KEPCO). Funding the ₩72.8 trillion grid program on top of that debt load is the long-run question investors price (Korea Times).

What are the risks for KEPCO?

  • Fuel prices and FX. The Middle East war’s oil and LNG spike lands from Q2 2026 with a lag, and a weaker won amplifies imported-fuel costs (KEPCO).
  • Regulated tariffs. Rates are set politically; the 2021-2023 energy crisis showed tariffs can stay below cost long enough to produce tens of trillions of won in losses that are still being worked down (KEPCO).
  • Debt service. ₩206 trillion of debt and ₩11.4 billion of daily interest leave little room if margins compress again (KEPCO).
  • Capex burden. The ₩72.8 trillion transmission program must be financed while deleveraging, a tension between the growth story and the balance sheet (Korea Times).
  • Execution and siting. HVDC routes and substations face permitting and local-opposition delays that can push demand-ready timelines like Yongin’s to the right.

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Frequently asked questions about KEPCO

What does Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) do?

KEPCO is Korea's state-controlled integrated utility. The parent company monopolizes transmission, distribution, and retail electricity sales, generating ₩23.71 trillion of Q1 2026 segment revenue, while subsidiaries Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (₩3.92 trillion) and five thermal GENCOs (₩7.16 trillion) produce the power it buys and resells (DART 분기보고서). Consolidated Q1 2026 revenue was ₩24.40 trillion (KEPCO).

Why is KEPCO part of the Korea AI power infrastructure concept?

Because it is the customer behind the domestic build-out. KEPCO plans about 72.8 trillion won ($53.1 billion) of transmission investment by 2038, including HVDC routes to the capital region and a substation feeding 10 GW or more to the Yongin semiconductor cluster (Korea Times). Every transformer, cable, and switchgear order in that plan flows to the equipment makers in this concept.

What was KEPCO's latest quarterly result?

In Q1 2026 KEPCO reported consolidated revenue of ₩24.40 trillion, up 0.7% year over year, operating profit of ₩3.78 trillion, up 0.8% and its eleventh straight quarter of year-over-year improvement, and net income of ₩2.52 trillion, up 6.7% (KEPCO results release, DART 분기보고서). For full-year 2025 it earned a record ₩13.52 trillion operating profit, up 61.7% (KEPCO).

When does KEPCO report its next earnings?

KEPCO announced Q1 2026 results on May 13, 2026 and filed its 분기보고서 on May 15. The next scheduled disclosure is the H1 2026 결산 release and 반기보고서 (semi-annual report), due around August 14, 2026 under Korea's 45-day semi-annual deadline; that timing is estimated from the filing calendar, not company-confirmed (DART).

Has KEPCO recovered from its 2021-2023 losses?

Operationally yes, financially only partly. After the energy-crisis losses, KEPCO has now logged eleven consecutive quarters of year-over-year operating-profit improvement and cut its accumulated standalone deficit from ₩47.8 trillion at end-2023 to ₩34.0 trillion, with standalone borrowings down from ₩89.6 trillion to ₩83.1 trillion (KEPCO). But consolidated debt still stands at ₩206 trillion with ₩128 trillion of borrowings costing ₩11.4 billion in interest every day.

What is KEPCO's guidance for 2026?

KEPCO does not issue formal numeric guidance. Its Q1 2026 release flags the key swing factor instead: oil and LNG price spikes from the Middle East war that began in late February 2026 were not yet reflected in Q1 and are expected to affect results and funding with a lag from Q2 onward (KEPCO). The structural spending plan, about ₩72.8 trillion of grid investment by 2038, is disclosed separately (Korea Times).

Sources & references

  1. 한전, 2026년 1분기 결산 실적 발표 (보도자료) · Korea Electric Power Corporation (via Newswire), 2026-05-13
  2. 한국전력공사 분기보고서 (2026.03) · Q1 2026 quarterly report · Korea Electric Power Corporation / DART (FSS), 2026-05-15
  3. 한전, 2025년 결산 실적 발표 (보도자료) · Korea Electric Power Corporation (via Newswire), 2026-02-26
  4. 한국전력공사 사업보고서 (2025.12) · FY2025 annual report · Korea Electric Power Corporation / DART (FSS), 2026-03-17
  5. KEPCO to invest $53.1 bil. by 2038 to expand power supply infrastructure for advanced industries · The Korea Times, 2025-05-27
  6. [신년사] 김동철 한전 사장 "에너지 고속도로 구축 시급…AI 활용 경영시스템 혁신" · Aju Business Daily (아주경제), 2026-01-02
  7. AI is set to drive surging electricity demand from data centres (Energy and AI) · International Energy Agency, 2025-04-10
  8. SK, AWS to build South Korea's largest, multibillion-dollar AI data center · KED Global (Korea Economic Daily), 2025-06-16