Prosecutorial Review Committee: "Investigation into Baek Woon-gyu's 'Breach of Trust Inducement' Should Stop and He Should Not Be Prosecuted"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 18th, the Prosecution Investigation Deliberation Committee recommended not to additionally indict former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu, who was prosecuted for allegations of manipulating the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, on charges including aiding breach of trust.

The committee announced that after deliberating on the necessity of additional indictment on Baek’s aiding breach of trust charges that afternoon, it resolved to recommend discontinuing the investigation and dismissing the charges. All 15 current affairs committee members, randomly selected in advance, participated in the meeting. Regarding the prosecution of former Minister Baek, 6 out of 15 members supported it, while 9 opposed. Regarding whether to continue the investigation, all 15 members opposed it.

The Prosecution Investigation Deliberation Committee is convened to review the investigation process and evaluate the legality of investigation results in cases where public suspicion arises or social attention is focused. The committee’s recommendations are not binding, so the investigation team is not obligated to follow them. However, since this committee was held to resolve differences between the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the investigation team, it is expected to have a decisive impact on the investigation team’s decision to indict.

The committee, which started at 2 p.m. that day, ended around 6:15 p.m. The current affairs committee members, composed of external experts, reviewed whether to additionally indict for aiding breach of trust based on written opinions submitted by the investigation team and former Minister Baek’s side, limited to 30 pages of A4 paper.

The investigation team presented the opinion to indict, arguing that former Minister Baek had the intent to cause damage to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and to benefit a third party through breach of trust. On the other hand, Baek’s side reportedly opposed, stating that the early shutdown of the nuclear power plant was a policy decision and that the beneficiary was unclear, so the breach of trust charge could not be established.

Former Minister Baek was already indicted in June on charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of rights exercise, and obstruction of business for allegedly obtaining KHNP’s intention to shut down Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant early. At the time of indictment, the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office investigation team intended to apply charges of aiding breach of trust and obstruction of business to Baek, but due to differences in opinion with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office leadership, the Prosecution Investigation Deliberation Committee was convened.

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