Technical Standard in Transition: The Distribution Voltage Conversion Project in South Korea, 1967-2005

In 2005, the Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) announced that the project to raise the distribution voltage from 100V to 220V was complete. This marked the official completion of a thirty-two year project to change a major technical standard of the South Korean electrical system. Focusing on the role of “technocratic entrepreneurs” in KEPCO and several government agencies, this paper examines their strategies to overcome the technological momentum vested in the voltage standard. Although the technocrats were motivated by profit opportunities when they made the initial decision to launch the project in the mid-1960s, they also proved extremely tenacious when the project experienced unexpected delays in the 1970s and 80s. The project could be completed only with the persistence of the technocratic entrepreneurs, who perceived the problem through the lens of national planning. In the end, it was the bureaucratic momentum vested in the project itself that accounts for the successful transition of the technical standard.