Industry Vice Minister: "Renewable Energy Corruption, Moon Government's Overdrive Side Effect... Will Propose Recurrence Prevention Measures"

Press Conference at Government Sejong Cheongsa on the 14th

Kang Kyung-sung, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated on the 14th, "I believe the previous government's renewable energy distribution and expansion policy was too fast," adding, "It increased very rapidly, and side effects appeared during the process."

On this day, Vice Minister Kang made these remarks during a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong.

First, regarding the corruption related to renewable energy projects recently confirmed by the Board of Audit and Inspection, he said, "As the responsible ministry, I apologize," emphasizing, "We will thoroughly prepare measures to prevent recurrence and innovate."

However, he drew a line by calling the Board of Audit and Inspection's pointed issues "individual corruption." Vice Minister Kang explained, "As the spread and distribution of renewable energy rapidly increased, the budget and subsidies also grew significantly, and the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out that some took private benefits or engaged in illegal and improper abuse of authority. The issues pointed out are individual corruption, but the very occurrence of such matters indicates possible deficiencies in the renewable energy system and project management. Therefore, we plan to establish comprehensive innovation measures for renewable energy overall, including institutional shortcomings and poor project management revealed through this audit."

Regarding the fundamental cause of corruption during the renewable energy policy implementation process, he attributed it to the excessive speed during the Moon Jae-in administration. Vice Minister Kang pointed out, "Under this government, the 10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (Electricity Basic Plan) was newly set with achievable goals for renewable energy distribution and expansion that residents can accept."

According to the 10th Electricity Basic Plan finalized in January this year, the share of major power sources in power generation by 2030 is 32.4% for nuclear power, 19.7% for coal, 22.9% for liquefied natural gas (LNG), and 21.6% for renewable energy. Compared to the 2030 national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC) announced by the Moon Jae-in government in 2021, the renewable energy share decreased by 8.6 percentage points from 30.2%, while the nuclear power share increased by 8.5 percentage points from 23.9%.

Finally, Vice Minister Kang said, "Energy policy should be rational, science-based, and contribute to national competitiveness," adding, "We will ensure that energy policy supports strengthening Korea's future without being trapped by ideology."

(Photo for reference)

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