Gyeongsangbuk-do has a high electricity self-sufficiency rate and abundant water supply. Corporations that run businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and secondary batteries can enjoy expense-saving effects if they come to North Gyeongsang.
Shin Seung-hun, North Gyeongsang investment attraction Director General, on the 31st at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman hotel in Seoul, explained the reasons why it is good for corporations to invest in North Gyeongsang at the "2026 future strategy industrial innovation investment forum."
In North Gyeongsang, the steel industry represented by POSCO is established. More recently, corporations related to data centers, secondary batteries, energy, semiconductors, tourism and services, and machinery, metals, and defense are continuing to invest in North Gyeongsang.
Director General Shin cited power as North Gyeongsang's strength. Director General Shin said, "The Yeongnam region's power generation is 2.1 million gigawatts (GW), of which the generation within North Gyeongsang is 1 million GW," and added, "North Gyeongsang's electricity self-sufficiency is 251.7, ranking first among metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. North Gyeongsang supplies the surplus electricity it produces to the entire country."
Director General Shin said, "The reason North Gyeongsang has a high electricity self-sufficiency rate is because 13 of Korea's 26 nuclear power plants are in North Gyeongsang," adding, "Thanks to solid bedrock, the East Sea, which is colder than the West and South seas and suitable as cooling water, and resident acceptance, North Gyeongsang has many nuclear plants."
Director General Shin emphasized not only that North Gyeongsang has a high electricity self-sufficiency rate, but also that doing business in North Gyeongsang will allow corporations to enjoy reduced electricity bills going forward. Thanks to a regionally differentiated rate system that the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment plans to introduce within the year, industrial electricity rates in the Yeongho-Nam regions can be reduced.
According to the "industrial regional electricity rate system" the ministry released on the 26th, industrial electricity rates in the southern region will drop by 13–18 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Considering that last year's average industrial electricity selling price was 181.9 won per kWh, industrial electricity rates in the southern region will be cut by 7–10%.
Director General Shin said, "Industrial electricity rates are expected to differ among the capital region, the central region, and the southern region going forward," adding, "If you run data center and secondary battery businesses in North Gyeongsang, you can get an effect of up to a 10% reduction in electricity rates."
Director General Shin said that North Gyeongsang also has an advantage in terms of water supply volume. Director General Shin emphasized, "Looking only at Gumi, 1 million tons of industrial water are supplied annually, of which only 330,000 tons are consumed, leaving about 700,000 tons of surplus industrial water," and "Even just looking at the water price, Gumi is 540 won per ton, Yongin is 740 won, and Cheonan is 1,000 won."
Director General Shin said, "If you do business in North Gyeongsang, you can reduce production expense through savings not only on industrial water but also on electricity rates," adding, "North Gyeongsang has schools that produce strong talent, including Pohang University of Science and Technology POSTECH, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Yeungnam University, Kyungpook National University, and Kumoh National Institute of Technology, so if you invest in North Gyeongsang, you can cut expense and not worry about staffing issues."