Board of Audit and Inspection to Submit Audit of Wolsong Unit 1 on the 9th... Civic Groups "Director's Prosecution Report on the 6th Proceeding"

Board of Audit and Inspection "Difficult to Predict Before General Election... Will Quickly Disclose Once Results Are Confirmed"
Civic Group "Only Now Submitting After Thorough Investigation... Proceeding with Prosecution and Press Conference"

Shinwolseong Units 1 and 2

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) plans to submit the audit report on the validity of the early shutdown of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 to the Audit Committee, but nuclear civic groups have stated that they will proceed with filing charges against BAI Chairman Choi Jae-hyung as scheduled.

According to the BAI on the 3rd, the audit report on the validity of the early shutdown decision of Wolseong Unit 1 is planned to be submitted to the Audit Committee meeting scheduled for the 9th. All audits by the BAI are finalized through resolutions by the Audit Committee.

It is uncertain whether the audit results will be finalized and announced before the general election on the 15th. According to the BAI, after submission, procedures such as drafting a public statement, preparing a summary, and revising corrective measures must be followed. The timing of finalizing and announcing the audit results, as well as submitting them to the National Assembly, will also depend on discussions within the Audit Committee.

A BAI official told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "At this point, it is difficult to predict whether the results will be announced before the general election," adding, "What is clear is that the BAI's position remains unchanged that once the Audit Committee passes a resolution and the results are finalized, they will be disclosed as soon as possible." Earlier, Chairman Choi stated at a press briefing in February that he does not consider the general election when deciding whether to announce the results before the election.

Previously, the National Assembly passed a resolution in September last year requesting an audit by the BAI, citing issues with the decision to shut down Wolseong Unit 1 early. The BAI is required to report the results to the National Assembly within three months of receiving the audit request. Accordingly, the audit should have been completed by December last year, but due to the complexity of the matter, the BAI extended the audit period by two months until the end of February. However, the BAI completed on-site audits, including data collection, on January 22. Since then, it has been conducting investigations of related parties, reviewing materials, gathering opinions from relevant institutions, and preparing the report.

Seven civic groups, including the Nuclear Policy Solidarity, Nuclear Workers Solidarity, Facts and Science, Active Free Citizens, Citizens Together, and Energy Promotion Group, along with the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power labor union and residents of nuclear power plant areas, announced on the 1st that they will file charges against Chairman Choi at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on the 6th as planned. They also intend to proceed with a press conference scheduled for the same day in front of the main gate of the BAI on Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

These groups criticized the BAI for collecting data through forensic analysis of computers belonging to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power officials, completing the on-site audit in January but only submitting the report to the Audit Committee this month, and failing to announce the results by the 31st of last month to neatly conclude the matter before the general election. They believe that the BAI's failure to announce the audit results may violate the National Assembly Act.

A representative of the civic groups said, "It is self-contradictory to claim that the general election is not being considered while conducting intensive investigations such as forensic analysis and yet not announcing the audit results until the election is imminent," adding, "This is not only a violation of the National Assembly Act but also neglect of duty as public officials, so we will proceed with filing charges with the prosecution."

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