South Korea plans to introduce regionally differentiated industrial electricity rates within the year, offering discounts of 13 to 18 won per kilowatt-hour, or 7% to 10%, in southern regions including Honam and Yeongnam. The proposal would divide the country into four zones and 11 detailed sub-regions based on power self-sufficiency, transmission costs and balanced-growth indicators. It is intended to steer power-intensive investment away from the Seoul metropolitan area, where 40.6% of national electricity consumption was concentrated last year, toward regional industrial centers. The government estimates that four Honam semiconductor fabs could save 720 billion to 990 billion won annually, but the plan could reduce Korea Electric Power Corporation revenue by 2.8 trillion to 3 trillion won a year and faces concerns over distorted price signals, regional disputes and the feasibility of related renewable-energy targets.