[2020 National Audit] Minister of Industry: "If There Is Responsibility for Wolseong Unit 1, I Will Not Avoid It"

October 22 National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee Audit

Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, is seen taking an oath on the 22nd at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, during the audit of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy by the Industry, Trade, Industry, and Small and Medium Venture Business Committee. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "I find it unimaginable on a personal level that such an incident occurred, and I also think it is unimaginable that an organization (the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) could carry out such actions. If there is any responsibility I must bear as the head of the organization for this unfortunate situation, I will not evade it."

On the 22nd, Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, made these remarks during the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee’s audit.

Earlier, on the 20th, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of its audit on the early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1, demanding disciplinary action against the ministry’s responsible director and subordinate staff.

Assemblyman Cho Jeong-hoon of the Transition Era Party questioned, "Do you really think the director and subordinate staff could arbitrarily delete 444 files?"

Minister Sung responded, "The outcome resulted from their own actions, and organizationally, they never said anything on our behalf. We also learned about this only after reviewing the audit results."

Assemblyman Cho asked again, "Was it at the director’s discretion? Is this the culture of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy?"

Minister Sung replied, "It is not the culture, but we only became aware of this outcome through the audit results."

Assemblyman Cho stated, "The head of an institution is responsible for everything that happens within the institution, and that is why they are treated as the head. Even if the director and staff were not cognitively aware of deleting the files, anyone at the ministry level beyond the director should voluntarily take responsibility."

Minister Sung answered, "As you said, I think it is unimaginable on a personal level that such an incident occurred, and also unimaginable that such actions could be taken at the organizational level. The Board of Audit and Inspection has requested disciplinary action against the director and staff."

He added, "I would like to express my sincere regret about this situation. If there is any responsibility I must bear as the head of the organization for this unfortunate situation, I will not evade it."