[2020 National Audit] Jeong Jae-hoon: "Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's Financial Deterioration Not Due to Moon Administration's Nuclear Phase-Out"

Eom Jae-sik, Chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (left), and Jeong Jae-hoon, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (right), are seen fist-bumping while attending the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee's audit of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on the 12th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chae-seok] Jeong Jae-hoon, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), stated that the financial condition of KHNP did not deteriorate due to the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy.

On the 12th, President Jeong made these remarks during the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee's audit.

Heo Eun-ah, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "KHNP's operating profit sharply declined by about 80%, from approximately 3.8 trillion won in 2015 to about 780 billion won in 2017."

President Jeong explained, "It was not a sharp decline in operating profit, but in June 2016, during the Park Geun-hye administration, a full inspection of corrosion on the internal steel plates (CLP) of the containment building, one of the nuclear power plant barriers, was conducted, which required shutting down the plants and caused the operating profit to decrease."

Rep. Heo said, "The capacity factor of nuclear power plants, which was 85.9% in 2015, dropped to 71% last year, and power generation decreased from about 160 million MWh to about 140 million MWh. The amount of power generation corresponds to what 4 million households can use for one hour, while Seoul has about 3.9 million general households."

President Jeong responded, "In 2018, the capacity factor was reduced to 66%, the lowest, to conduct the full inspection. Since last year, the capacity factor has been gradually increasing, and the full inspection is almost complete."

Meanwhile, Rep. Heo asked if there was any intention to check on excessive deliveries by partner companies, noting the sharp increase in KHNP's inventory assets.

President Jeong said, "We have been conducting focused inspections since last year and will strengthen them further going forward."

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