Request for Public Audit on KEPCO's Indonesian Coal-Fired Power Plant Amid 'Preliminary Feasibility Study Controversy'

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is facing the risk of a public audit regarding its Indonesian coal-fired power plant project, which has been embroiled in controversy over its lack of profitability.

On the 11th, the non-profit organization Climate Solution announced that it plans to question the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) about the responsibility for KEPCO's and others' poor investment.

At 11 a.m. on the 12th, approximately 500 people, including Climate Solution, other environmental groups, and citizens, will file a request for a public audit at the main gate of the BAI in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The main statements announced by Climate Solution for the day include "Problems of KEPCO and the Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding poor investments in overseas coal power projects," "Status and issues of overseas coal financing investments by Korean public enterprises," and "Condemnation of Korea Electric Power for actions counteracting climate crisis response."

According to Climate Solution, KEPCO has recklessly pushed forward the Indonesian "Jawa 9 and 10 units project," which was investigated to have low profitability, investing more than 300 billion KRW (60 billion KRW in equity investment, 250 billion KRW in payment guarantees, etc.).

This project involves building a 2GW coal-fired power plant near Jakarta, Indonesia, but last year, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) preliminary feasibility study forecasted a loss of 10.2 billion KRW instead of profit.

Climate Solution criticized KEPCO for stating its intention to proceed by adjusting the equity investment cost from 60 billion KRW to 48 billion KRW regardless of the preliminary feasibility study results. This has been pointed out as a loophole to avoid the preliminary feasibility study, which applies to projects with investments exceeding 50 billion KRW.

Furthermore, Climate Solution claimed that the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which has the authority to manage and supervise the preliminary feasibility study system for public institution projects, is merely watching KEPCO's poor investment without taking action.

In response, the Ministry of Economy and Finance stated that Climate Solution's claims are fundamentally incorrect.

The ministry explained that ▲ it is closely monitoring KEPCO's net losses and debts, and ▲ if KEPCO wants to reduce the investment cost to 48 billion KRW, it must consult with the ministry and the equity holders, but no inquiry has been made yet.

Climate Solution also criticized KEPCO's double standards, pointing out that while it strives to reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants domestically, it engages in "hypocritical" behavior by building new coal power plants abroad.

Climate Solution stated that pollutants emitted from the new power plants in the Jawa 9 and 10 units project in Indonesia are expected to be 10 to 20 times higher than those from similar plants in Korea.

Climate Solution said, "KEPCO intends to continue pushing forward with the Jawa 9 and 10 units project, avoiding the preliminary feasibility study results," and added, "Our citizens request a strict audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection on KEPCO's poor, unethical, and risky investments and the Ministry of Economy and Finance's neglect of these issues."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.