Prosecution Appeals Suspended Sentence for Ministry of Industry Official in 'Wolseong Nuclear Plant Data Deletion' Case

Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The prosecution has appealed the court's suspended sentence ruling on Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy officials who deleted data related to the 'Wolseong Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant.'

On the 13th, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "Regarding the first trial verdict on the case of Ministry officials deleting audit data of Wolseong Unit 1 on the 9th, we have filed an appeal today against all defendants on grounds of factual error, legal misinterpretation, and inappropriate sentencing."

The prosecution explained, "This case involves Ministry officials responsible for the shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1 who, in order to conceal evidence of the Blue House and Ministry's involvement in Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's immediate suspension decision of Wolseong Unit 1, deceived an incumbent official during late-night weekend hours to enter the office and delete audit-related data from another official's work computer, which was subject to the Board of Audit and Inspection's review. The defendants committed acts unbecoming of public officials to cover up the mistake of causing Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to suffer enormous financial damage amounting to hundreds of billions of won due to the improper shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1," they pointed out.

They added, "Considering the gravity of the matter, the motive and method of the crime, and the defendants' denial and lack of remorse, a heavier sentence is necessary. We also believe there was an error in the original court's judgment regarding the charge of unlawful entry, hence the appeal. We will make every effort to ensure that the defendants receive sentences commensurate with their crimes in the appellate trial," they emphasized.

Earlier, the 11th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Heon-haeng) on the 9th sentenced Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy director-level official A (56) to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence, and Ministry officials B (53) and C (48), charged with the same offenses including damage to public electronic records, unlawful entry, and violation of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, to eight months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence each.

A and B are accused of ordering or tacitly allowing the deletion of data related to Wolseong Unit 1 around November 2019, just before the Board of Audit and Inspection requested the submission of materials. C was charged with directly deleting 530 related documents late at night on December 1, 2019, a day before a meeting with the Board's auditor, by entering the Ministry's office at the Government Sejong Complex.

The first trial court stated, "The defendants did not submit the materials requested by the Board of Audit and Inspection and even deleted them, making it difficult for the Board to properly investigate the Ministry's involvement in Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's early shutdown decision of Wolseong Unit 1. As a result, the audit period was delayed by about seven months beyond the expected timeframe, obstructing the Board's audit," and recognized most of the charges against A and others as guilty.

However, the court acquitted C of the unlawful entry charge, ruling that C had the right to access the office at the time.

During the first trial, the prosecution had sought a sentence of one year and six months for A, and one year each for B and C.

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