What did KEPCO do to win the UNLEASH Learning and Development Award for a second year?

KEPCO aligned human resource development with its business strategy, used employee training records and job-specific learning pathways to recommend courses, and integrated training with human resource management. Evaluators also recognized its data-driven personalized training.

How does KEPCO use AI training to support its business strategy?

KEPCO’s human resource development master plan focuses on AI transformation and new growth engines. The company established the KEPCO AX Academy with Seoul National University, offers an AI Leader course to promote AI adoption, and runs an AI Agent initiative to apply the technology in practice.

How does KEPCO connect employee training and qualifications to staffing and promotion decisions?

KEPCO incorporates a revised talent profile and job-specific competency framework into performance reviews and department chief promotion assessments. Digital badges, awarded based on completed training, academic degrees and professional qualifications, are also considered in applications for positions posted internally.

KEPCO wins UNLEASH award for 2nd straight year

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Summary

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) won the UNLEASH Learning and Development Award in Paris on Thursday (local time), marking its second consecutive win. It is the first Korean company to achieve the feat. KEPCO said evaluators recognized its alignment of human resource development with business strategy, personalized training and integration with human resource management.

Key Facts

The award was presented at UNLEASH World 2026 and was established in 2016 by the European Association for People Management and U.K.-based HR technology group UNLEASH.
The award recognizes human resource development based on strategic impact, organizational role and contribution to business performance.
KEPCO has also won consecutive ATD Awards over the past two years; the awards are organized by the U.S.-based Association for Talent Development.
KEPCO’s human resource development master plan runs through 2030 and is aligned with its long-term management strategy through 2035.
KEPCO established the KEPCO AX Academy with Seoul National University and offers an AI Leader course and an AI Agent initiative.

By Ko Dong-hwan

Published Oct 23, 2026 4:15 pm KST
Updated Oct 23, 2026 4:45 pm KST

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Business Management Officer Ahn Jung-eun, center, receives the UNLEASH Learning and Development Award at UNLEASH World 2026 in Paris, Thursday (local time). Courtesy of KEPCO

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has won the UNLEASH Learning and Development Award for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Korean company to achieve the feat and reaffirming its global competitiveness in human resource development (HRD), the state-run utility said Friday.

The award was presented at UNLEASH World 2026, a major human resources development conference, in Paris on Thursday (local time), according to KEPCO.

Established in 2016 by the European Association for People Management and U.K.-based HR technology group UNLEASH, the award recognizes excellence in HRD, based on its strategic impact, organizational role and contribution to business performance.

The recognition follows KEPCO's consecutive wins at the ATD Awards, organized by the U.S.-based Association for Talent Development, over the past two years, further demonstrating the company's expertise in employee training and talent management.

KEPCO said evaluators recognized its alignment of HRD with business strategy, data-driven personalized training and integration of HRD with human resource management (HRM).

The company has developed an HRD master plan through 2030, aligned with its long-term management strategy through 2035. The plan focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) transformation (AX) and new growth engines, positioning employee training as a driver of business performance.

As part of the effort, KEPCO established the KEPCO AX Academy in collaboration with Seoul National University, which it described as the first AI-focused training program launched by a Korean public institution. It also offers an AI Leader course to promote AI adoption and an AI Agent initiative to apply the technology in practice.

To personalize learning, KEPCO uses employees’ training records and job-specific learning pathways to recommend courses tailored to individual needs. It also awards digital badges to certify expertise based on completed training, academic degrees and professional qualifications.

KEPCO has linked these measures to personnel decisions, incorporating its revised talent profile and job-specific competency framework into performance reviews and department chief promotion assessments. Digital badges are also considered when employees apply for positions through internal job postings.

KEPCO President Kim Dong-cheol said the award further reaffirmed the company's globally leading capabilities in talent development, following its consecutive wins at the ATD Awards.

“We will contribute to the development of Korea’s HRD industry by sharing our achievements and providing consulting to outside organizations based on our accumulated expertise and knowhow,” Kim said.

KEPCO said linking training, competency assessments and staffing decisions creates a cycle in which employee development reinforces HRM.

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