'Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Data Deletion' Former Ministry of Industry Officials Acquitted in Appeal... First Trial Overturned

Former Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy officials who were sentenced to prison in the first trial for deleting data from the Wolseong Unit 1 nuclear power plant (hereinafter Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant) and obstructing the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit were acquitted in the appellate trial.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Daejeon High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Byeong-sik) on the 9th overturned the original verdict that sentenced former Ministry director A (56), former section chief B (53), and former secretary C (48) to prison for violating the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, damaging public electronic records, and trespassing, and acquitted them.

The court stated, "The data in question was individually stored by the responsible officials and does not fall under the crime of damaging public electronic records," adding, "Important documents classified as public records are registered in the document management system, and many files are also saved on other officials' computers, so it is reasonable to conclude that they are not objects of the crime of damaging public electronic records."

Regarding the charge of violating the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, the court said, "It is difficult to view the audit activities as following the procedures prescribed by law, and the digital forensic investigation was also not conducted lawfully."

As for the trespassing charge, the court ruled not guilty, consistent with the first trial. The court explained, "Some of the files deleted by C still existed as identical electronic records within the Ministry, and the Board of Audit and Inspection obtained access rights by receiving C's ID and password," adding, "The delay in the audit is more likely due to the Board's inadequate handling of its duties, and it is difficult to see that the defendants' actions posed a risk of obstructing the audit."

A and B are accused of ordering or tacitly allowing the deletion of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant-related data around November 2019, just before the Board of Audit and Inspection requested the submission of materials. C, who was their subordinate, was prosecuted for entering the Ministry's office at the Government Sejong Complex around 11 p.m. on the Sunday before a scheduled meeting with the Board's auditor on December 2 of the same year and deleting about 530 files related to the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant over approximately two hours.

In the first trial, the 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 decision to prematurely shut down the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant," and "As a result, the audit period was delayed by about seven months beyond the expected duration, obstructing the Board's audit." The court sentenced A to one year in prison with a two-year probation, and B and C to eight months in prison with two years probation each.

However, regarding the trespassing charge, the court found them not guilty, considering that the employee responsible for the current work had provided C with the PC password, thus granting him the right to access the office.

They appealed, claiming that they deleted the data as a customary practice during personnel transfers without intent to obstruct the audit, citing factual misinterpretation, legal errors, and unfair sentencing. The prosecution, which sought prison terms ranging from one year to one year and six months, also appealed, arguing that since the officials conspired to delete Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant data during weekend late-night hours and systematically obstructed the audit, the sentence should be heavier than the original.

Meanwhile, after receiving suspended prison sentences in the first trial, they were dismissed from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in June last year and resigned.

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