靑 refuted that there is no blacklist… Ministry of Environment·Nuclear Power Investigation Explained `Controversy`

The Blue House responded head-on to the prosecution’s investigation targeting the regime, including the early closure of Wolseong nuclear power plant unit 1 and the blacklist of the Ministry of Environment. It seems that the judgment that it could give the grounds of the regime judgment theory put forward by the opposition party ahead of the by-election of Seoul and Busan mayors in April and accelerate the lame duck of President Moon Jae-in, who left his term of office for more than a year. On the 10th, the Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok strongly refuted, saying, “There is no blacklist in the Moon Jae-in administration.” Spokesman Kang said, “It is regrettable and not true to define this case as a blacklist case by the Ministry of Environment,” and “the word blacklist does not appear anywhere in the explanation materials of the court.” “This case is a dispute over whether or not the act of receiving a resignation from an affiliated subsidiary from the past government falls under ex officio abuse, etc.,” he said. “The facts will be confirmed in the process of advanced review.”

The Blue House also made its first stance on the early closure of Wolsong Unit 1, which is under investigation by the prosecution.

Spokesman Kang strongly refuted, saying, “The closure of Wolseong Unit 1 is a pledge of the President and was selected as a major policy task by the government and was promoted publicly,” and “I cannot understand that it is subject to judicial judgment.” Until now, Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun and others have taken the position of the government, but this time the Blue House directly counterattacked. The arrest warrant of the former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Woon-gyu, at the center of the case, was recently dismissed in the court, but the prosecution is targeting the Blue House line at the time, including Chae Hee-bong, former Blue House Industry and Trade Secretary.

The reason that the Blue House directly refuted the two issues on an unusual basis ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays is that these issues can have a sensitive effect on political offensive and public opinion trends. The previous day, the court arrested former Environment Minister Eun-kyung Kim and sentenced former Blue House secretary Shin Mi-sook to probation on charges of urging the head of a public agency under the Ministry of Environment to resign. As Minister Moon Jae-in’s first arrest, the Blue House is also embarrassed. In addition, the government, which aimed at the Park Geun-hye administration’s’cultural blacklist’ as a representative enemy, is also experiencing a sense of crisis that could damage the legitimacy of the regime. There is also a prospect that the investigation could be extended to former presidential secretary Lim Jong-seok, former presidential secretary director Jo Hyun-ok, who oversaw the personnel affairs of public institutions at the Blue House.

The Blue House emphasized the fact that the Moon Jae-in administration guaranteed the term of office for most public institutions. It actively refuted the criticism that the former government officials were driven out in order to appoint a person who suits the taste of the regime. On the day, spokesman Kang Min-seok explained, “At the time of the Moon Jae-in administration’s inception, most of the executives of public institutions appointed by the former government either finished their term of office or retired for legitimate reasons and procedures.” At that time, the total number of government officials reached about 330 heads of public institutions and about 90 standing auditors. Spokesman Kang said, “A significant number of the 13 executives of public institutions under the Ministry of Environment who have submitted their resignations in this case have also completed their term of office.” He said he considers the end of his term of office.” In particular, he explained that the number of public institutions where the head of public institutions, who took office in the former administration, has been in office until now is in six places, including the Korea Social Welfare Council and the Korean Sports Association.

The opposition party, including the power of the people, is launching a general offensive, saying that it is the same as the “cultural blacklist” of the Park Geun-hye administration. “The reality of the Moon Jae-in government blacklist was revealed,” said Kim Do-eup, a member of the opposition party’s legislative and judicial committee secretary. . Rep. Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People’s Power, said, “It was not a candlelight government, but a blacklist government,” and insisted that “President Moon should apologize to the public for directly making candles and operating the blacklist.”

Regarding the early closure of the Wolseong nuclear power plant, spokesman Kang said that some media reported that the Blue House ordered the operation of the economic evaluation of the Wolseong nuclear power plant #1, and “it is an ongoing trial, so I will not specifically mention it.” However, there are opinions that it is difficult to understand in the political circles such as the opposition about the explanation of the Blue House that it is a pledge of the President and is not subject to judicial judgment because it is a policy task.

[임성현 기자 / 박제완 기자]
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