Wolseong Nuclear Plant Manipulation Allegation: Chae Hee-bong's Investigation Review Committee Application Fails

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The investigation review committee for Chae Hee-bong, the key suspect in the 'alleged economic feasibility manipulation case for the early shutdown of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1' and former Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary (currently President of Korea Gas Corporation), has failed to convene.

According to the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office on the 13th, Chae's lawyer applied for an investigation review committee to the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office Citizens' Committee on the 29th of last month, requesting an external judgment on whether to indict, but on the 7th, it was decided not to refer the case. This decision was made by the referral review committee formed according to the Prosecutors' Investigation Review Committee operation guidelines, meaning the investigation review committee did not even pass its first hurdle.

The investigation review committee was established in January 2018 during the tenure of Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il as part of the prosecution's self-reform measures. It is a body where external experts discuss whether to continue prosecution or indict. When a party involved in a case applies for an investigation review committee, the jurisdictional prosecutors' citizens' committee first decides whether to refer the matter.

Chae is suspected of being involved in lowering the economic evaluation score of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, which became the decisive basis for the early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1 in April 2018. Shortly after President Moon Jae-in asked, "When will the suspension of Wolseong Unit 1 operation be decided?" Chae was investigated multiple times by prosecutors on charges of abuse of authority but is known to deny the allegations.

In the legal community, with the failure of Chae's investigation review committee, it is seen that the prosecution's investigation is entering its final stage. The investigation team suspects that Chae exerted undue influence during the economic evaluation process that determined the early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1. Prior to Chae, former Minister of Industry Baek Woon-gyu has also completed his investigation, and judicial action against them is imminent.

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