Court Rejects Arrest Warrant for Former Industry Minister Baek Woon-gyu... "Insufficient Evidence of Criminal Charges"

Former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu, who is accused of involvement in manipulating the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolsong Unit 1 nuclear power plant, is appearing at Daejeon District Court on the afternoon of the 8th for a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The arrest warrant requested by the prosecution for Baek Woon-gyu, former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (56), who is accused of involvement in the manipulation of the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolsong Unit 1 nuclear power plant, was dismissed by the court on the 9th.

On the early morning of the same day, Judge Oh Se-yong, head judge in charge of warrants at the Daejeon District Court, dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution against former Minister Baek on charges including obstruction of business.

With the dismissal of the arrest warrant for former Minister Baek, it is expected that the prosecution's investigation into higher-ups such as former Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary Chae Hee-bong (currently President of Korea Gas Corporation) will inevitably face setbacks.

Judge Oh stated, "The alleged crime in this case is that the suspect, as Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, abused his authority to compel Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) and related personnel to perform duties they were not obligated to, thereby obstructing their work related to Wolsong Unit 1. However, the suspect denies having ordered the immediate shutdown of the nuclear power plant or the manipulation of economic feasibility."

He continued, "To satisfy the elements of the crime of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights under Article 123 of the Criminal Act, it must be proven that a public official abused their authority and caused a person to perform an unnecessary duty. When interpreting and applying crimes involving such vague concepts, the principles of legality, strict interpretation, and minimal infringement must be observed."

Judge Oh explained the reason for dismissal, saying, "Based on the materials submitted so far, it is insufficient to conclude that the suspect's criminal charges have been sufficiently proven, and there appears to be room for dispute regarding the charges. Therefore, it is necessary to guarantee the suspect's right to defense while not in custody."

He added, "Furthermore, since key witnesses have already been detained and statements from related parties have been secured, it is difficult to conclude that there is a risk of evidence destruction by the suspect. Considering these factors, the necessity and appropriateness of detention at this stage are lacking."

The warrant hearing for former Minister Baek, which began around 2:40 p.m. that day, ended around 8:50 p.m. after more than six hours of intense exchanges between the prosecution and former Minister Baek.

Upon attending the hearing, former Minister Baek asserted his innocence to reporters, stating, "The early closure of Wolsong Unit 1 was a national policy prioritizing public safety, handled through lawful procedures based on laws and principles." It is reported that he denied most of the charges during the hearing as well.

He is also said to have claimed no involvement with the actions of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy officials who were previously indicted for deleting documents related to the closure of Wolsong Unit 1 ahead of the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit.

Earlier, the Criminal Division 5 of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) requested a pre-arrest warrant for former Minister Baek on the 4th on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of business for improperly interfering with the economic feasibility evaluation by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) prior to the closure of Wolsong Unit 1 and obstructing KHNP's legitimate operations as the operator of the Wolsong nuclear power plant.

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