Prosecutors Raid Ministry of Industry Over 'Nuclear Phase-Out Blacklist' Allegations...First Forced Investigation Against Government After Presidential Election (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution, investigating allegations of a personnel blacklist at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, conducted a search and seizure at the ministry on the 25th.

The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office's Corporate and Labor Crime Division (Chief Prosecutor Choi Hyung-won) has been conducting a search and seizure of the nuclear-related departments within the ministry since the morning, securing documents and PCs.

With the materials obtained from this search and seizure, the prosecution is expected to investigate whether the ministry pressured heads of affiliated organizations who did not align with its code while promoting the nuclear phase-out policy, illegally forcing them to submit their resignations.

This search and seizure marks the first forced investigation by the prosecution against the current administration, whose term is nearing its end, since the regime change. The case was first reported to the prosecution in January 2019. After little progress for three years, the prosecution's recent search and seizure has drawn attention to the background of this move.

Some interpret this as a signal that the prosecution is now seriously revisiting a case that had been dormant for years, effectively targeting the current administration with various investigations. Furthermore, if evidence emerges that the current government instructed the removal of personnel opposing the nuclear phase-out, it could become a second Environmental Ministry blacklist scandal.

In fact, the Supreme Court's confirmation in January of the original sentence sentencing former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung and former Blue House Balanced Personnel Secretary Shin Mi-sook to prison for abuse of power in the Environmental Ministry blacklist case appears to have provided momentum for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy investigation.

A prosecution official stated, "Since the Supreme Court legally judged the 'Environmental Ministry blacklist' case as a crime, it seems the investigation is being conducted to bring closure."

Previously, the Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, requested a prosecution investigation in January 2019, alleging that after President Moon Jae-in's inauguration and the promotion of the nuclear phase-out policy, the presidents of four public institutions under the ministry were collectively pressured by ministers and vice ministers to resign.

At the time, Kim Do-eup, a Liberty Korea Party lawmaker, claimed, "In September 2017, the director in charge at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy individually summoned the presidents of power companies to a hotel in Gwanghwamun and pressured them to submit their resignations," adding, "The terms of the four power company presidents ranged from as short as 1 year and 4 months to as long as 2 years and 2 months remaining."

In connection with this, four individuals, including former Minister Baek Woon-gyu, former Vice Minister Lee In-ho, former head of the ministry's Operations Support Division, and former Innovation Administration Officer, were reported to the prosecution on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.

The Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, handling the case, summoned Jang Jae-won, former president of Namdong Power, a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation, as a witness in May 2019, and investigated the presidents of the four KEPCO power subsidiaries. Afterward, the related investigation stagnated but reignited recently with the search and seizure conducted more than three years after the initial report, following the conclusion of the presidential election.

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