On the morning of December 3, last year, employees are working at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Sejong City Government Complex. yunhap news
– It is reported that the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Investigation Team, which is investigating the early closure of Wolseong nuclear power plant No. 1, recently summoned a former vice president of Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and secured a statement that the Ministry of Industry, etc., intervened in the operation of evaluating the economic feasibility of shutting down the nuclear power plant. It is said that three officials from the Ministry of Industry were handed over to trial on the charges of deleting 530 nuclear power plant-related data, and the manipulation of economic evaluation, the main source of suspicion, was also revealed to the level of punishment.
Securing evidence and statements of ‘hypocrisy’ by government officials of the Ministry of Industry,
Investigation of the early closure of Wolseong nuclear power plant 1
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Summoned former vice president Suwon Han, who led the manipulation of economic feasibility assessment
– According to the JoongAng Ilbo coverage on the 5th, the Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office (Director Sang-Hyeon Lee) recently summoned former vice president A and head of headquarters B as suspects. Former Vice President A, from the Ministry of Industry, served as a bridge between the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Industry in the process of evaluating the economic feasibility of Wolseong Unit 1. An anonymous nuclear power plant industry official said, “A former vice president led the operation of economic evaluation by drastically lowering the utilization rate and sales price of Wolsong Unit 1 as a contact point for the Ministry of Industry.” .
According to the results of the audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection, on May 10, 2018, former Vice President A reported to Han Su-won President Jeong Jae-hoon that it was necessary to modify input variables for economic evaluation, such as the sales unit price of Wolseong Unit 1, and President Jung immediately called an emergency executive meeting.
At an emergency executive meeting, former vice president A argued that “the Wolseong Unit 1 utilization rate needs to be reflected low in consideration of the recent trend, and the’KHNP forecasted price’ should be used, which is lower than the’last year’s sales price’.” Accordingly, President Chung et al. did not properly review the rationality of the former vice president A’s arguments and passed them on to the accounting firm so that the economic evaluation was unreasonably low.
The prosecution believes that the former vice president A’s manipulation of economic feasibility evaluation was a result of the involvement of government officials from the Ministry of Industry. An official at the prosecution who requested anonymity said, “Unlike the government officials of the Ministry of Industry, who thoroughly obey the superiority, the former vice president is actively cooperating in the prosecution investigation.”
In a previous investigation by the Board of Audit and Inspection, Director C, an official of the Ministry of Industry, arrested for obstruction of the audit, said, “To promote the early closure of Wolsong Unit 1 to former Minister Baek Woon-gyu (Ministry of Industry), vice-president A and economic feasibility evaluation were prepared, and the board of directors was conducted method and date “I think I recognized it because I reported several times that I was discussing (just after local elections, etc.) and asked President Jung to take a good look at the economic evaluation service.”
An official at the prosecution said, “The fact that the former vice president A manipulated the input values on the premise of the abolition of Wolsong Unit 1 has been proven to a large extent through investigations, and the investigation toward the upper line is proceeding with a sense of speed.”
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On the afternoon of December 4 last year, a wreath is placed in front of the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon City, supporting Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. yunhap news
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Head of Headquarter B was the executive director who led the’Wolseong Unit 1 Government Policy Implementation Task Force (TF)’ in KHNP. The investigation team confiscated Mr. B’s home and his mobile phone when seizing and searching the Ministry of Industry and Kahn Suwon in November.
In the initial analysis, the accounting firm in charge of the economic feasibility evaluation service evaluated the economic feasibility of continuing operation of the Wolsong Unit 1 at 277 billion won, but their intervention resulted in a final assessment of -9.1 billion won as the utilization rate and sales cost decreased. It was concluded that the economic feasibility of operating the Wolsong Unit 1, which had been fully repaired by spending 700 billion won to extend its lifespan until 2022, is inferior.
“Securing evidence to prove the mainstream… pro-government prosecutors will not be able to crush the investigation”
– The investigation team is in a position to continue the investigation in principle regardless of the prosecution’s regular personnel in January this year. Now, only the summons investigations of the key leaders of President Chung, former Minister Paik, and former Blue House industrial policy secretary (currently President of Korea Gas Corporation) are left.
Another prosecution official predicted, “Since we have secured evidence and statements related to economic evaluation, which is the core suspicion, even if the investigation team is replaced, the investigation will have no choice but to continue.”
It remains to be seen whether it will lead to a full-scale investigation into the Blue House. As to whether the auditor of the Audit and Inspection Service reported to the Blue House a report containing measures to lower the economic feasibility evaluation, the director at first stated that it was “reported to the presidential secretary’s office”, and then changed his position, saying, “It was the material of the internal meeting of the Ministry of Industry.”
Reporters Kang Kwang-woo and Jung Yu-jin [email protected]
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Wolseong nuclear power plant unit 1 operation and audit diary. Graphic = Reporter Jaemin Shin [email protected]
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