KEPCO E&C union votes in favor of leaving Korea’s major labor umbrella group

KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co. logo [Courtesy of KEPCO E&C]

The labor union of KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co. (KEPCO E&C), a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), has voted to leave the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country’s two major labor umbrella groups.

According to multiple sources from the energy industry on Friday, union members of KEPCO E&C voted in favor of withdrawing from the labor umbrella organization during a general meeting on Wednesday.

The decision came with an 89.7 percent approval rate, with 1,114 members voting in favor of the plan out of 1,242 members that voted among a total of 1,451 members.

Industry insiders noted that the decision is due to fundamental differences.

“KEPCO E&C and its union have different views about nuclear energy with the KCTU,” said an unnamed industry official. “The company specializes in nuclear power plants but the labor umbrella group supports an anti-nuclear energy movement.

“The remaining step is to submit a letter of withdrawal,” the official added.

KEPCO E&C - established in 1975 - boasts energy technologies and capabilities, including comprehensive nuclear power plant designs and reactor system design technologies.

It also has various reactor technologies, including the Korean standard nuclear power plant, OPR1000, the next-generation APR1400 nuclear power plant, various small and medium reactor technologies, and the System-Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor (SMART).

KEPCO E&C has been participating in the construction of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2009, Korea’s first nuclear power plant overseas. It is in charge of both comprehensive design and reactor system design.

The company has also been involved in the design of small and medium reactors in Saudi Arabia since 2016.