Key Summary

KEPCO is in talks with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to collect roughly three years of electricity charges upfront, a sum in the tens of trillions of won against last year's bills of 4.1 trillion won for Samsung and 900 billion won for SK Hynix. A cash inflow of that size would cut KEPCO's near-term funding gap and reduce KEPCO bond issuance, easing supply pressure and spreads across the Korean special-purpose and corporate bond market where KEPCO paper is the dominant crowding-out factor. The offsetting risk is on the demand side: SK Hynix's planned Korea Treasury Bond investment program for this year could be scaled back or delayed if capital is diverted to prepayment, so watch for confirmation of the final prepayment amount, its schedule, and any revision to KEPCO's 2026 issuance plan.