Samsung, SK Hynix reject KEPCO’s $17B prepayment proposal for power grids

South Korea’s state-run power monopoly asked its two biggest corporate customers to essentially pre-fund their own electricity supply. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix said no. Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) proposed that the two semiconductor giants prepay a combined 25 trillion won, roughly $17-18.4 billion, in future electricity bills. The money would have financed construction of power grid infrastructure needed to supply massive new chip fabrication clusters. Samsung’s share was 20 trillion won, with SK hynix on the hook for 5 trillion won, figures based on their projected 2025 electricity consumption. Why KEPCO needs the money KEPCO isn’t exactly flush with cash. The utility had accumulated debt of 210.7 trillion won as of June 2026. To put that in perspective, the company is burning through approximately 11.5 billion won per day just in interest payments. That debt load makes traditional borrowing an increasingly painful option. The prepayment scheme was designed as a creative workaround: get the money without adding to KEPCO’s already staggering debt pile while giving chipmakers a clearer timeline on when their factories would actually have power. The infrastructure in ...