Daegu Leads Bid for Merged Energy Firm Headquarters

Daegu is vying to host the headquarters of a proposed energy state firm merger between Korea Gas Corporation and Korea National Oil Corporation. According to city officials, the government's public institution reform plan announced on September 3 should center on Korea Gas Corporation. The merged entity will be tentatively named the Energy and Resources Corporation.

The city emphasized that since the merger structure, headquarters location, and functional realignment have yet to be finalized, the integrated company should be designed around the organization best positioned to stably oversee the nation's energy supply and supply chain after the merger. Korea Gas Corporation is proposed as the anchor of the merger due to its larger organizational size, assets, and sales compared to Korea National Oil Corporation.

The city cited figures from last year's financial results: Korea Gas Corporation employs 4,305 staff, roughly three times the 1,456 at Korea National Oil Corporation. The former also has total assets of 53.63 trillion won ($39.4 billion), while the latter's assets amount to 19.44 trillion won.

Daegu pointed to its existing infrastructure and networks as advantages for hosting the integrated company's headquarters. The city is home to a central control center that monitors natural gas pipelines across the country, as well as an international energy network built through previous events such as the World Energy Congress in 2013 and the World Gas Conference in 2022.