A Comparative Study on Performance Management in Korean and Japanese Electric Power Company: Cases of the Korea Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Group
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Lee Ju-Won , Shin Ji-Sook 
Published: June 2018

Korea electric power industry has been operating as a monopolistic public enterprise system. However japanese's one has been operating by ten private enterprise which is supplying a electric power in the jurisdiction of each company. The Electric power industry is a quasi-public and is important of a investment in plant and equipment, safety, risk management. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the features of performance management system of Korea Electric Power Co.(KEPCO) and Kansai Electric Power Group, which represent of electric power industry in Korea and Japan. This Case Studies progressed from the four viewpoint of Balanced Scorecard(BSC); Financial perspective, business process perspective, customer perspective, and learning and growth perspective. This study will be contribute to the improvement of a performance management system in Korea electric power industry.
The major findings from the study are as follows.
In the financial perspective, KEPCO has been measuring only financial indexes such as EVA, ROA, sales. But Kansai Electric Power does financial indexes such as ROIC, operating cash flows, oversea sales, etc. and non-financial index such as an effort to lower CO2.
In the customer perspective, KEPCO has been managing by the performance measurement system on the public organization of governance, such as a customer satisfaction, corporate responsibility index. However, Kansai Electric Power has been focusing on the contribution to local development. KEPCO is focusing on “Steady Supply of Electric Power”, and Kansai Electric Power dose “Implementation of Low CO2. Society”.
In the business process perspective, KEPCO is difficult to find the index of a safety management but Kansai Electric Power is a number of indicators on a safety management. In relation to the Green Technology Development, both company are many indicators of the low CO2. Society. Kansai Electric Power is given more weight on the expansion of investment to secure raw materials by power generation source.
In the learning and growth perspective, the difference of both companies is a direction of personnel management policy. KEPCO has been promoting the policy for a reduction of staffs and downsize of organization. But Kansai Electric Power has been declaring the plan of a increase of staffs for initiation into the technology on electric power industry in a coming era of low birthrate.
As a result of survey, the difference between KEPCO and Kansai Electric Power in the four viewpoint of Balanced Scorecard(BSC) due to difference between a public enterprise and a private enterprise. Korean public sectors have introduced passively BSC by governance and have been established according to the frame of a management assessment system of governance. So, KEPCO has been accomplishing a performance management in the short term perspective by the management assessment indexes of governance. It contrasts with Kansai Electric Power which has been accomplishing a continuous improvement for a unchanging mission “Customer Satisfaction No.1 Corporation”. Therefore, KEPCO will establish a performance management system in the mid-long term perspective, which is reflected to a business contents, a change of management environment. In other words, when considering the nature of the electric power industry, it will manage the performance in the mid-long term by including non-financial indicators, such as a indexes related to safety management of nuclear power plant, an effort of low CO2 society, etc..
This study is a first exploratory research of a comparative study on Korean electric power company and Japanese's. But case studies of two companies has a limit to generalize features for performance management system of the electric power industry. Therefore, it will be needed the follow-up studies which include Japan's 10 private electric power companies as well as six development subsidiary of KEPCO.