Two Ministry of Industry Officials Arrested for Nuclear Power Data Deletion... Investigation Points to Higher-Ups

The view of Wolsong Unit 1 located in Naari, Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. (Image source=Yonhap News)

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[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Two officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy were arrested on charges of deleting a large amount of internal data related to the Wolsong Unit 1 nuclear power plant or ordering such deletion. There is speculation that the prosecution's investigation into the so-called 'upper echelons,' including former Minister Baek Woon-gyu and the Blue House, will accelerate. This is to uncover the truth behind allegations of manipulation in the economic feasibility evaluation of the nuclear power plant.

On the afternoon of the 4th, Judge Oh Seyong, in charge of warrants at the Daejeon District Court, issued pre-trial detention warrants for two Ministry officials at the director level, including A (53), who are accused of damaging public electronic records and violating the Board of Audit and Inspection Act. However, a warrant for a manager-level official who was also subject to the warrant request was dismissed on the grounds that "the accused generally admitted to the alleged crimes, and considering the evidence already secured, there is little concern about evidence destruction or flight."

Mr. A is suspected of ordering Mr. B to delete data related to Wolsong Unit 1 around November last year, just before the Board of Audit and Inspection requested the submission of materials. Mr. B, a subordinate who was arrested along with Mr. A, reportedly entered the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy office at the Government Sejong Complex around 11 p.m. on Sunday, the day before a scheduled meeting with the Board of Audit and Inspection auditor on Monday morning, December 2, and deleted 444 items of data related to Wolsong Unit 1 over about two hours, according to the Board of Audit and Inspection and others.

Earlier, on November 6 last year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy was asked by the Board of Audit and Inspection to submit all internal reports and Blue House consultation materials related to Wolsong Unit 1. Subsequently, except for documents reported to the Presidential Secretariat, only some materials such as litigation trends were sent on November 27-28. The deletion occurred around December 1 last year. This effectively erased traces of consultations with the Blue House. The prosecution reportedly believes that the deletion of data was not only to obstruct the Board of Audit and Inspection’s audit but also to eliminate evidence of Blue House involvement in the early shutdown process of the Wolsong nuclear power plant.

At that time, Mr. B reportedly first deleted important documents by modifying file names so that the original content could not be recognized even if recovered later, and later, judging that there were too many materials, simply deleted files or entire folders. Mr. B told the Board of Audit and Inspection, "I thought they might feel uneasy if I told them (the auditors) that audit-related materials existed but were not available," and said, "Manager C told me it would be better to delete the materials over the weekend, so I did it late at night in a hurry," according to reports.

The warrant for Manager C, another subordinate of Mr. A, was dismissed.

With the main suspects detained, the investigation into the manipulation of the economic feasibility evaluation for the early shutdown of Wolsong Unit 1 is expected to accelerate. Since the deleted Ministry documents included a considerable amount of Blue House consultation materials, as confirmed through the Board of Audit and Inspection’s audit, the investigation will be intensified.

It is expected that summons and investigations of key figures involved in this case, including former Minister Baek Woon-gyu and Chae Hee-bong, then Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary (currently President of Korea Gas Corporation), who are superiors of the detainees, will soon take place. The prosecution’s policy is to uncover the truth behind the allegations of manipulation in the economic feasibility evaluation for the early shutdown of Wolsong Unit 1 through this process. Whether former Minister Baek and the Blue House superiors were involved or gave instructions is the core focus of the prosecution’s investigation.

Earlier, on April 2, 2018, the Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that the Blue House Industrial Policy Secretary’s Office contacted Ministry officials, requesting them to report the "plan to promote the early shutdown of Wolsong Unit 1 to Minister Baek and then inform them." The Board emphasized that former Minister Baek established a policy through reprimanding related staff and ordering a review of the report, stating that "the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) board’s decision for early shutdown would be immediately followed by a halt in operations."

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