Prosecutors Likely to Indict Ministry of Industry Officials Detained in ‘Wolseong Nuclear Plant’ Case Today... Attention on Prosecutor General Yoon’s Return to Duty

On November 5th, as the prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy regarding the 'manipulation of the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolseong Unit 1 nuclear power plant,' officials were busily moving around at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in the Government Sejong Complex. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The prosecution, investigating allegations of economic feasibility evaluation manipulation of the Wolseong Unit 1 nuclear power plant, will indict Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy officials who deleted related materials ahead of the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit on the 23rd.

The Criminal Division 5 of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) plans to indict and detain two officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy: Mr. A (Director-level official, Nuclear Power Policy Officer) and Mr. B (Grade 4 Secretary), who were arrested on the 4th on charges of violating the Board of Audit and Inspection Act and damaging official electronic records, on the day their detention period expires this afternoon.

The prosecution is also expected to indict Mr. C (Manager-level official, Nuclear Power Policy Manager), who was also subject to an arrest warrant request along with them, without detention on the same charges.

Mr. A is suspected of ordering Mr. B to delete documents related to Wolseong Unit 1 just before the Board of Audit and Inspection requested the submission of materials. Mr. B is accused of entering the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy office at the Government Sejong Complex around 11 p.m. the day before a scheduled meeting with the Board of Audit and Inspection auditor on December 2 last year and deleting 444 items of Wolseong Unit 1 related materials over about two hours.

At that time, Mr. B reportedly modified file names and other details of documents deemed important so that even if restored later, the original content would be unrecognizable, and then deleted them. Later, judging that there were too many materials, he simply deleted files or removed entire folders, as revealed by the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit results.

Initially, the prosecution also requested a pre-arrest warrant for Mr. C, but it was dismissed because he admitted to the crime.

Meanwhile, the prosecution has yet to summon for investigation former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu and Chae Hee-bong, President of Korea Gas Corporation (former Presidential Secretary for Industrial Policy), who are classified as key suspects in this case.

With Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol suspended from duty due to disciplinary action, making progress in the investigation difficult, the success or failure of this investigation is likely to hinge on the court's decision regarding the suspension of execution application filed by Prosecutor General Yoon.

Previously, on the afternoon of the 24th of last month, when the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office submitted the arrest warrant request report for Mr. A and others to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae suddenly held a briefing, filed disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon, and ordered his suspension from duty. This raised suspicions that it was a move to hinder the investigation into the 'Wolseong nuclear power plant' case, which had allegations of Blue House interference.

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