[2020 National Audit] "Half of KEPCO Suppliers' Illegal Acts Involve Corruption and Misconduct... Bribery Most Frequent"

Choi Seung-jae: "Among 529 Sanctions, 276 Cases Involve Corruption and Misconduct"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] More than half of the violations committed by Korea Electric Power Corporation's (KEPCO) suppliers and subcontractors over the past decade were related to corruption and bribery. Bribery was the most frequent offense.

According to data submitted by KEPCO to Choi Seung-jae, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the People Power Party, 276 out of 529 cases (52%) of violations by suppliers and subcontractors over the past 10 years were related to corruption and bribery.

Specifically, bribery accounted for the highest number of cases at 102, followed by bid rigging with 66 cases, submission of false documents with 59 cases, and illegal subcontracting with 49 cases. The remaining 253 cases involved administrative or procedural violations such as contract non-fulfillment.

During the same period, 182 KEPCO employees were implicated in bribery, with disciplinary actions taken against them including 73 dismissals, 37 suspensions, 48 pay reductions, and 22 reprimands.

Choi stated, "The continuous cycle of bribery is partly due to lenient penalties. According to the current enforcement regulations of the Act on Contracts to which the State is a Party, those who have given bribes of 200 million won or more are barred from participating in bids for a minimum of three months to a maximum of two years."

Choi also argued that punitive measures should be established to fundamentally block repeat offenders from participating in bids.

There have also been cases where companies sanctioned for bribery avoid bid participation restrictions by filing administrative lawsuits and obtaining provisional injunctions.

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