Vice President Suwon Han, “closed Wolseong by government order” to the Korean National Security Council two years ago

Former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Un-gyu, who is suspected of being involved in the operation of the economic feasibility of the Wolseong Unit 1 nuclear power plant, leaves the Daejeon Detention Center on the 9th when an arrest warrant was dismissed by the Daejeon District Court and is being asked by reporters. News 1

In the process of deliberation on the permanent suspension of the Wolsong 1 unit by the Nuclear Safety Commission in November 2019, it was found that at the time, Vice President Han Soo-won answered with the effect that “the Wolsong 1 unit was stopped at the direction of the government.” Based on the basic plan for power supply and demand established by the government every two years, it is said that the government’s order to shut down was accepted as an order to’take appropriate measures’.

In the legal and nuclear power plant industry, the Ministry of Industry’s official letter was sent before the economic evaluation of Wolseong Unit 1 was carried out. According to the analysis, there is an analysis that Han Suwon took action in an unforgettable manner.

According to the minutes of the 111th meeting of the Korean National Security Council (November 22, 2019) on the 15th, “Is there any official request from the government to KHNP” (related to KHNP’s decision to close KHNP’s early Wolseong Unit 1 on June 15, 2018). To the commissioner’s inquiry, former vice president A replied, “I have received an official letter.” A former vice president responded to the official letter, “(the 8th) the decision of the State Council for deliberation on the basic power supply and demand plan and the roadmap for energy conversion. Content”. When asked by this committee, “Is it meant to stop (Wolseong Unit 1), is it an order?” Former Vice President A replied, “Yes.” At that time, the Wonan Committee deliberated on the agenda for permission to change the operation for permanent suspension of Wolseong Unit 1.

Unit 1, Wolseong, Yangnam-myeon, Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju-si, stopped operating due to the decision of the Board of Directors of Hydro and Nuclear Power in June 2018 and the approval of permission to change the operation of permanent suspension by the Nuclear Safety Committee in December of the following year.[뉴시스]

The’Energy Conversion Roadmap’, which states that “Wolseong Unit 1 will be shut down early in consideration of the safety of power supply and demand,” was resolved at the State Council in October 2017. Two months later, the Ministry of Industry excluded Wolseong Unit 1 from the 8th Basic Electric Power Supply and Demand Plan. The plan contained the content that “in the first half of next year (2018), the feasibility of continued operation, such as economic feasibility and regional acceptance, will be comprehensively evaluated and the timing of closure will be decided.” KHNP started the economic evaluation of Wolseong Unit 1 on April 10, 2018.

An official in the nuclear power plant industry said, “The government has already decided to close the Wolsong 1 unit early at the end of 2017, and has sent a letter of cooperation to KHNP, the business operator,” and said, “Because the decision has already been made, the economic feasibility of the Wolseong unit 1 He said he was trying to lower the variable.

In fact, it is reported that the prosecution has secured a statement in early April 2018, before starting the economic evaluation, that Minister Baek instructed KHNP through officials from the Ministry of Industry to write a false letter of intent, stating that “the Wolseong nuclear power plant becomes ineffective as it operates.” On April 2-3 of the same year, secretary Chae also instructed government officials of the Ministry of Industry, such as “manipulate the coefficient so that the Wolseong nuclear power plant can be stopped,” “Press KHNP”, etc. It is said that it was also understood.

On April 3, the Minister of Industry, Minister Jeong Mo, delivered the instructions to the former secretary, Chae Jeon, and reported a plan saying, “There may be problems if we stop immediately, so we will operate for a limited time until 2020, which is the period for permission to change the operation of the Won Ahn.” “Will you die? Immediately stop and rewrite the report,” he said.

In the end, KHNP lowered the utilization rate and sales unit price, which are key factors in evaluating economic feasibility, and evaluated Wolseong Unit 1, which was a’surplus’ nuclear power plant, as a’lossy’ nuclear power plant. On June 15 of the same year, the board of directors of KHNP decided to immediately stop the operation of Wolseong Unit 1 based on a false economic evaluation report. In February of the following year, KHNP applied for permission to change the operation of Wolsong Unit 1 permanently to the Wonan Committee, and the Wonan Committee finally approved it in December of that year.

The Ministry of Industry also sent an official letter to KHNP in early June 2018, before the economic results came out, stating that’the preservation cost due to the early closure of Wolsong Unit 1 is 0 won’. Even if it is closed early, it appears to be to avoid the problem of negligence by KEPCO, KEPCO’s parent company and listed company, by specifying that the damage is 0 won. The prosecution suspects that Baek and the Blue House have intervened, and is investigating the allegations of malpractice.

Chairman of the Nuclear Safety Committee Um Jae-sik presides over a meeting held at the Seoul Nuclear Safety Committee on the morning of December 24, 2019. On this day, the Wonan Committee approved permission to change the operation of the Wolseong nuclear power plant unit 1 permanently. yunhap news

At that time, during the deliberation process of the Korean National Security Council, KHNP’s board of directors raised issues about the decision to close the Wolsong unit 1 early. Lee asked the former vice president of A, “Is there any safety issues that have been raised specifically for Wolseong Unit 1?” In this regard, former vice president A said, “There was a discussion on the side of safety items dealt with at the time of the board of directors, rather than’the current facility is not safe to continue operation, so it must be stopped’. “He explained.

At the time, a member of the Korean National Security Council said, “I was embarrassed to explain that the decision was made to close early even though there were no problems with safety,” and pointed out that “the KHNP board of directors has not discussed safety issues at all.”

At that time, a member of the original bank by Lee Byung-ryeong also found that the results of the analysis were reversed that there was no economicality of the Wolseong unit two months after the inauguration of President Han Su-won Jeong Jae-hoon. On October 11, 2019, after September 30, 2019), he raised suspicions about the first agenda proposal and argued that the permanent suspension was unfair.

Reporter Kang Kwang-woo [email protected]

A graphic image of the timeline of the decision to close early Wolseong Unit 1. [자료제공=감사원·김영식 의원실, 검찰 공소장]