Today, Investigation Review Committee on Former Minister Baek Woon-gyu Leading the Closure of Wolseong Unit 1... Focus on 'Breach of Trust' Judgment

Matters Audited and Investigated Separately for Two Opposition Presidential Candidates Choe Jae-hyung and Yoon Seok-yeol

Former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-kyu (third from the left). Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Prosecution Review Committee (PRC) will be held on the 18th regarding the allegations of aiding breach of trust against former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu, who is accused of leading the early shutdown of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. This comes 49 days after Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo decided to convene the committee in opposition to the investigation team's indictment opinion on June 30.

If the PRC decides on an 'indictment opinion' for the aiding breach of trust charge, it could lead to a civil lawsuit holding the government accountable for the damages amounting to approximately 140 billion KRW suffered by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP), making the outcome highly anticipated.

The PRC will hold a special committee meeting from 2 p.m. at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, to review the validity of additional indictment for Baek's alleged aiding of breach of trust and obstruction of business.

The 15 special committee members, randomly selected from external experts across various fields, will review written statements of up to 30 A4 pages submitted by both the prosecution and Baek. After hearing oral statements from both sides, they will deliberate. If opinions differ, a majority vote of the attending members will decide the outcome.

Previously, the prosecution indicted Baek and former Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary Chae Hee-bong (currently President of Korea Gas Corporation) without detention on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of business for having KHNP submit a report indicating the intention to shut down Wolseong Unit 1 early in 2017.

Additionally, Baek was indicted along with KHNP President Jung Jae-hoon on charges of breach of trust under the Specific Economic Crimes Act for instructing the manipulation of the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolseong Unit 1, submitting the manipulated results to KHNP’s board, which then resolved to suspend operation and shut down early, causing damages worth approximately 148.1 billion KRW to KHNP.

At that time, the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office investigation team judged that President Jung’s breach of trust was under Baek’s instructions and intended to apply aiding breach of trust charges to Baek as well. However, there was disagreement with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office leadership, and Prosecutor General Kim decided to convene the PRC by his authority.

According to the PRC operation guidelines, the special committee’s decisions are advisory and not binding. However, since the investigation team initially concluded to indict and Prosecutor General Kim decided to convene the PRC, if an 'indictment opinion' is issued, it is highly likely to lead to additional indictment.

The key issues are whether Baek can be recognized as having 'intent to breach trust' and who is the 'beneficiary of the property interest.' The prosecution views the government, responsible for KHNP’s damages, as the beneficiary, while Baek’s side argues there is no beneficiary.

Notably, this case involves two prominent opposition presidential candidates, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who were respectively responsible for auditing and investigating Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, suggesting that the PRC’s outcome could have significant political repercussions.

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