"There were too many original files to delete, so I used the 'shift+delete key'"

Board of Audit and Inspection, Early Shutdown Audit Results of Wolsong Unit 1
Data Related to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Employees Deleted Secretly at Night

On the 20th, staff at the National Assembly's Legislative Affairs Department were organizing the audit report submitted by the Board of Audit and Inspection, which examined the validity of the decision to prematurely shut down Wolseong Unit 1. On that day, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the audit results stating that the economic feasibility, which was the reason for the early closure of Wolseong Unit 1, was unreasonably undervalued. However, they stated that it was difficult to make a comprehensive judgment regarding the validity of the early closure. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

"It took too long to delete the files... so I just deleted the entire folder."

The report titled 'Review of the Validity of the Early Shutdown Decision of Wolseong Unit 1,' released by the Board of Audit and Inspection on the 20th, reveals the blatant obstruction of the audit by employees of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

According to the report, Director A of the Ministry was informed in November 2019 by subordinate B that an audit related to Wolseong Unit 1 was underway. Director A called his subordinates into a meeting room to discuss countermeasures. He instructed subordinate B to delete all materials related to Wolseong Unit 1 from all media, including computers, emails, and mobile phones.

B, along with a colleague, entered the office after 11 p.m. and spent over two hours deleting audit-related materials on Wolseong Unit 1 until 1:16 a.m. the next day. During the Board of Audit and Inspection’s investigation, B said, "I had a scheduled meeting with the audit officials and thought they would request materials related to Wolseong Unit 1 at that time," adding, "I had the thought that I should not submit the materials." He further confessed, "I thought I would feel guilty if I said the materials didn’t exist when they actually did, so I deleted the folders."

They prioritized deleting documents deemed important and sensitive by the Ministry. After deletion, even if recovery was possible, they renamed files to make the original content unrecognizable before deleting them again.

Eventually, judging that there were too many materials to delete, they used the PC’s simple delete function (shift+delete key). When even this took too long, they deleted entire folders.

On the afternoon of the 20th, Wolsong Unit 1 (right), which has been shut down, can be seen at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju-si. On the same day, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the audit conclusion on the "appropriateness of the early shutdown decision of Wolsong Unit 1."

B said, "Previously, the Ministry had been investigated by prosecutors regarding 'resource development,' and within the Ministry, it was said that simple deletion is always recoverable, so if you’re going to delete, you have to do it properly." This is an absurd confession that deleting materials to respond to external investigations was not a one-time occurrence.

Through this process, 444 files across 122 folders disappeared. 120 files were never recovered. The Board of Audit and Inspection requested disciplinary action against two employees.

On the 15th, at the National Assembly audit, Chairman Choi Jae-hyung of the Board of Audit and Inspection declared, "This is the first time during my tenure that I have encountered such strong resistance to an audit," making a bombshell statement regarding this audit.