[2020 National Audit] KEPCO Paid 3.5 Billion KRW Retirement Allowance to Executives Dismissed for Accepting Bribes and Entertainment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] It has been revealed that Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) paid retirement allowances to executives and employees dismissed for accepting money and entertainment without any separate reduction.

According to data titled 'Retirement Allowance Settlement Status for Those Dismissed Due to Acceptance of Money and Entertainment' submitted by KEPCO to Lee Joo-hwan, a member of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee, a total of 26 people were dismissed in the past three years, and retirement allowances totaling 3.5 billion KRW were paid to all of them.

In particular, although KEPCO employees are prohibited from engaging in solar power generation projects, it was confirmed that those who acquired such projects under borrowed names, held them, and received bribes by undercutting construction payments during the power plant construction process were also paid their full retirement allowances.

KEPCO stated that during disciplinary actions, performance-based pay reductions or salary non-payment effectively reduce the average wage, thereby reducing retirement allowances, and that there are no separate standards for reducing retirement allowances.

In fact, under the current Labor Standards Act, retirement allowances (equivalent to one month's pay per year of service) are calculated based on the average wage over the three months prior to retirement, so arbitrary reduction of retirement allowances is not allowed. Furthermore, paying less than the calculated retirement allowance constitutes a violation of the law, so legal amendments must precede any reduction in the retirement allowance amount itself.

Assemblyman Lee emphasized, "It is imperative to improve the situation where executives and employees of public institutions performing official duties receive full retirement allowances without any reduction despite committing misconduct that causes social controversy," adding, "Since civil servants are subject to regulations under Article 65 of the Civil Servant Pension Act that reduce retirement benefits and retirement allowances when dismissed for accepting money or entertainment, such regulations should also be applied to public institutions."

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