Government Targets Saemangeum Wind Power, a Key Project of Moon Administration... Initiates Administrative Sanctions

Government Announces Saemangeum Investigation Results... 5 Legal Violations Confirmed
Withdrawal of Pumping Permit Planned... Scheduled for Electric Committee Plenary Next Month
Wind Power Regulations to Be Revised... Police Investigation Request Under Review

Former President Moon Jae-in Touring Floating Solar Power Facilities
(Gunsan=Yonhap News) Photo by Hwang Kwang-mo = Former President Moon Jae-in is touring the floating solar power facilities at the Usuji floating solar power site in Gunsan City, Jeonbuk, after the 'Saemangeum Renewable Energy Vision Declaration Ceremony' held on October 30, 2018. 2018.10.30
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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＜Copyright(c) Yonhap News Agency, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited＞

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The government has recently initiated administrative sanctions against the Saemangeum offshore wind power project, which has gained notoriety as the "Daejang-dong on the sea." This is because the government investigation confirmed legal violations, including the submission of false documents during the project approval process. The government is also considering referring the Saemangeum offshore wind power project operators to the police.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 16th that it confirmed five legal violations, including two cases of submitting false documents, following an investigation into allegations raised during last month's National Assembly audit regarding the Saemangeum offshore wind power project. Previously, from the 17th of last month to the 9th of this month, the ministry conducted fact-finding investigations on seven companies participating in the Saemangeum offshore wind power project, including companies S, T, and J. A ministry official explained, "The investigation was conducted because various suspicions were raised throughout the entire process of promoting the Saemangeum wind power project," adding, "We examined whether the licensing conditions were fulfilled and the legality of the project promotion process."

Major violations related to the Saemangeum offshore wind power project confirmed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
[Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

"Major shareholder also falsely recorded"

The violations confirmed by the ministry include one case of failure to implement the approved shareholding structure, two cases of unauthorized stock acquisition, and two cases of submitting false documents, totaling five cases. Specifically, company T, which was approved for share transfer, did not change its shareholding structure as permitted by the ministry in November last year. Additionally, companies E and J acquired shares of other operators without approval from the Electricity Committee under the ministry and became major shareholders. Companies S and J were found to have inflated preliminary development costs or falsely prepared and submitted the scale and timing of stock acquisitions to the ministry.

The ministry also confirmed circumstances where company S, which received power generation project approval in December 2015, falsely recorded its major shareholder. Company S claims it did not falsely record the major shareholder when applying for the power generation project approval. However, despite requests from the investigation team, company S refused to submit the "Statement of Changes in Stocks, etc.," which could verify the major shareholder at the time of the project approval application.

The ministry has begun administrative sanctions against the Saemangeum offshore wind power project. First, the ministry plans to hold a hearing for company T by the end of this month and submit a proposal to revoke company T's power generation project share transfer approval to the Electricity Committee's plenary session next month. The Electricity Committee will decide whether to revoke company T's share transfer approval within next month.

Former President Moon Jae-in, 'Saemangeum Renewable Energy Vision Declaration Ceremony'
(Gunsan=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo = Former President Moon Jae-in is giving a speech at the 'Saemangeum Renewable Energy Vision Declaration Ceremony' held at the Saemangeum Floating Solar Power Plant in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, on the morning of October 30, 2018. 2018.10.30
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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＜Copyright(c) Yonhap News Agency, Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited＞

Promotion of Wind Power Project System Improvement

The ministry is also pushing for system improvements to prevent recurrence of similar cases. Accordingly, the ministry plans to amend the Electricity Business Act to introduce sanction provisions to guarantee compliance with approval conditions and strengthen the Electricity Committee's authority to conduct fact-finding investigations on compliance with approval conditions. To prevent financially vulnerable small-scale operators from unfairly profiting by transferring power generation project approvals after obtaining them, the ministry will also raise the approval screening criteria.

Regulations related to wind power generation will also be revised. This is to prevent operators who lack both the will to commercialize and the technology or capital from securing only the priority rights for offshore site measurement devices and then delaying the project. The ministry also plans to strengthen organizational capabilities by reinforcing the staff of the Electricity Committee Secretariat, which is responsible for power generation project licensing tasks.

The ministry is also considering referring three companies, S, T, and J, to the police for investigation. The ministry believes these companies submitted false information to the government with the intent to unfairly obstruct the Electricity Committee's deliberations and obtain power generation project approvals. A ministry official stated, "We will report the investigation results and related matters to the Electricity Committee next month," adding, "We also plan to discuss referring the case to the police for investigation under the charge of 'obstruction of official duties by deception.'"

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