South Korea’s state-run gas safety regulator plans to shift from its traditional domestic focus to a more export-oriented strategy, its president said.

Korea Gas Safety Corporation (KGS) President Park Kyung-guk told Maeil Business Newspaper in an interview that the state-owned firm would begin opening overseas branches to export its gas safety management systems.

KGS has developed its safety systems through decades of experience, including responses to gas-related accidents. Park said the corporation’s technologies are now competitive on a global scale, adding, “We believe our system is among the best in the world.”

The company signed a cooperation agreement with Mongolia in April 2025 to help manage the country’s shift from coal to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in response to air pollution. Park said the deal could pave the way for Korean-made products, such as boilers and piping, to enter the Mongolian market.

“The deal could lead to further exports to countries that are undergoing similar energy transitions,” he noted.

Interest in South Korea’s gas safety expertise is also growing elsewhere, with officials from Malaysia’s Energy Commission visiting KGS to study safety management practices following a recent gas pipeline explosion. The two sides later signed a cooperation agreement.

KGS is also working with Korean firms to provide safety services for their overseas operations.

Looking ahead, digital and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation is also a major task for the corporation. Park said, “We plan to build a digital platform where we can gather all of our gas information in one place and perform real-time safety management via safety management applications,” adding, “We plan to make efforts so that next-generation technologies such as AI, drones, robots, and quantum sensing can be accurately and quickly reflected in the field.”

In preparing a blueprint for the next 50 years, Park created the ‘Corporation 100-Year Committee’ immediately after taking office and is considering ways to respond to changes in the social, technological, and industrial environments moving forward.

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