SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea, heavily dependent on energy imports, will invest about 10.2 trillion won ($9 billion) in building a 2.5-gigawatt wind power generating complex through 2019 to diversify its energy resources, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on Friday.

The offshore wind farm project in the southwestern region will be led by state-run Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) and its fully-owned six utilities, a statement from the ministry of knowledge economy said.

Power generation from the project will be equivalent to meeting the average demands of a city with 5.56 million people, or about 10 percent of the country's population, the statement noted. ($1 = 1134.250 Korean Won)

(Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)