Former Minister of Industry Baek Woon-gyu's Arrest Warrant Dismissed... "Insufficient Evidence of Criminal Charges, Room for Dispute" (Comprehensive)

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.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The detention 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 the Wolsong Unit 1 nuclear power plant, was dismissed by the court on the 9th.

Oh Se-yong, the chief judge in charge of detention warrants at the Daejeon District Court, who conducted the pre-arrest interrogation (warrant substantive examination) of former Minister Baek, dismissed the detention warrant requested by the prosecution on charges including obstruction of business in the early hours of the day.

With the dismissal of the detention warrant for former Minister Baek on this day, it is inevitable that the prosecution's investigation into higher-ups, including former Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary Chae Hee-bong (currently President of Korea Gas Corporation), will face setbacks.

Judge Oh stated, "The alleged crime in this case is that the suspect, as the 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 the related personnel's work concerning Wolsong Unit 1. However, the suspect denies having ordered the immediate shutdown of the nuclear power plant or the manipulation of the economic feasibility evaluation."

He continued, "To satisfy the elements of the crime of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise 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 based on such indeterminate 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 detention."

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 tampering by the suspect. Considering these factors, the necessity and appropriateness of detention at this stage are lacking."

The warrant substantive examination for former Minister Baek, which began around 2:40 p.m. and lasted over six hours, ended around 8:50 p.m. after intense exchanges between the prosecution and Baek's side.

Initially, the prosecution planned to execute the arrest warrant at the prosecution office and then transfer former Minister Baek to the court via an underground passage accompanied by investigators. However, Baek appeared at the court directly with his lawyer.

Upon attending the warrant hearing, former Minister Baek told waiting reporters, "The early closure of Wolsong Unit 1 was a national policy task prioritizing public safety, handled through lawful procedures based on laws and principles," asserting his innocence.

It is reported that former Minister Baek denied most of the charges during the warrant hearing as well.

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

Former Minister Baek is accused of abusing his authority and violating the Act on the Board of Audit and Inspection by manipulating the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolsong Unit 1 and deleting related documents to obstruct the audit before the plant's closure.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit report, in April 2018, when a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official in charge of nuclear policy reported a plan to temporarily maintain the operation of Wolsong Unit 1, Baek reprimanded them to "review it as an immediate shutdown," and subsequently, a policy was set to "immediately shut down simultaneously with the KHNP Board of Directors' decision on early closure."

The prosecution has been investigating on the premise that the economic feasibility evaluation manipulation of Wolsong Unit 1 occurred following this policy decision.

The prosecution also suspects that former Minister Baek may have been involved in the process of including the early closure of Wolsong Unit 1 in the management performance agreement for the new KHNP president.

Former Minister Baek is also accused of involvement in the deletion of 530 nuclear-related documents by three Ministry officials who have already been indicted.

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 unfair involvement in the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolsong Unit 1 and obstructing KHNP's legitimate business.

In December last year, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office indicted two Ministry officials on charges of deleting documents related to the closure of Wolsong Unit 1 (damage to public electronic records, violation of the Act on the Board of Audit and Inspection, and unlawful entry) and indicted one other without detention, bringing a total of three to trial.

Meanwhile, the day before, the Citizens' Action for Saving Nuclear Power (Citizens' Action) filed a complaint with the prosecution accusing three former Blue House officials?former Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Kim Soo-hyun, former Science and Technology Advisor Moon Mi-ok, and former Climate and Environment Secretary Kim Hye-ae?of abuse of authority related to the early closure decision of the nuclear power plant.

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