A subcommittee of the parliamentary energy committee has passed a bill that will allow debt-ridden KEPCO to issue corporate bonds of up to six times its own capital from the current two.

While rival parties agreed to pass the bill at the subcommittee on Thursday, the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) requested a five-year expiry on the expanding ceiling.

The DP also added a clause that the agency should minimize the issuance of bonds and strive to improve its fiscal health.

The DP and the ruling People Power Party plan to pass the bill within the year pending approvals from other relevant committees.

The National Assembly had previously rejected revisions to the KEPCO Act that would raise the ceiling for bond issuances.