The mayor is Şener Söğüt (AKP) and the district governor is Uğur Kalkar, appointed in August 2022.[4] The cement plant is a major source of greenhouse gas.[5]
The district Körfez was established in 1987 from parts of the central district of Kocaeli (now İzmit) and of the district of Gebze. At the same time, the municipality Yarımca was renamed to Körfez.[7][8] It has borders with Şile to north, Derince from east, Dilovası from southwest and Gebze from west. Hereke and Kirazlıyalı were independent towns within the district until they were absorbed into the municipality Körfez in 2008.[9]