'Wolseong Nuclear Plant Manipulation' First Trial... Prosecutors Claim "Organized Crime by Cheongwadae Officials"

Former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-kyu / Photo by Jin-hyeong Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] In the first trial concerning former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu and others accused of improperly interfering with the economic feasibility evaluation of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, the prosecution claimed that "Blue House officials were systematically involved."

On the 24th, the Criminal Division 11 of Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Heon-haeng) held the first pretrial conference for former Minister Baek, former Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary Chae Hee-bong, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power President Jung Jae-hoon. The pretrial conference is a session to confirm the defendant's position on the charges and examine key issues, and defendants are not required to attend.

Previously, former Minister Baek was indicted on charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights, and obstruction of business; former Secretary Chae on charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights, and obstruction of business; and President Jung on charges of breach of trust and obstruction of business under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

On this day, the prosecution stated, "This was an act committed with the criminal intent of high-ranking officials from the Blue House, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and KHNP," adding, "Although instructions and reports were all made through documents such as reports, the defendants deny the charges."

They also said, "If former Minister Baek is found guilty of abuse of authority, the charge of instigating breach of trust is also recognized," and "While we fundamentally respect the recommendation of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee, the investigation team holds the same opinion both before and after the committee's decision." Earlier, on the 18th, 15 members of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee reviewed the appropriateness of additional indictment for instigating breach of trust and obstruction of business against former Minister Baek and recommended by a vote of 9 (non-prosecution) to 6 (prosecution) not to pursue additional indictment.

However, the prosecution added, "Whether to amend the indictment is an internal matter requiring consultation and decision-making, so nothing has been finalized yet."

On the other hand, the defense attorneys argued that the prosecution violated the principle of indictment specificity by indiscriminately including content unrelated to the specified charges in the indictment. The principle of indictment specificity requires that the prosecution submit an indictment containing only the facts of the crime at the prosecution stage and prohibits attaching or citing documents or evidence that could lead to prejudice.

The prosecution believes that former Minister Baek conspired with former Secretary Chae and others in November 2017 to instruct Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to submit a letter of intent for the early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1. They are also charged with causing KHNP to immediately suspend operations of Wolseong Unit 1 by a board resolution in June of the following year.

Former Secretary Chae is accused of having KHNP submit a facility status survey form containing the intention for early shutdown, and President Jung is charged with manipulating the evaluation results to make it appear that Wolseong Unit 1 was economically unfeasible under former Minister Baek’s instructions, causing damage to KHNP.

The court scheduled the second pretrial conference for November 9.

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