Yoon Administration Expands Investigation of 'Moon Government Solar Power' to All Local Governments... Also Reviews R&D Projects

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is forming an inter-ministerial task force (TF) to conduct an expanded inspection of solar power projects and other initiatives from the Moon Jae-in administration era.

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination on the 7th, the government joint inspection TF held its first meeting in the morning and decided to divide roles among agencies to carry out an expanded inspection based on the initial sample inspection results involving false tax invoices and fake mushroom and insect farms.

The government joint inspection TF is led by Park Gu-yeon, the First Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and includes the Corruption Prevention Task Force of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the National Tax Service, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service.

The inspection targets all institutions related to the Power Industry Infrastructure Fund projects, including the Power Fund Project Group, Korea Energy Agency, 226 local governments, and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning. The government joint inspection TF also plans to inspect the Power Industry Infrastructure Fund research and development projects (R&D), which were excluded from the first inspection announcement due to the lack of detailed results.

Both on-site investigations and document reviews will be conducted. In particular, reports of irregularities related to the inspection, such as internal whistleblowing, will be actively utilized during the investigation.

During the inspection process, suspected illegal activities will be identified, and if actual illegal acts are confirmed, strict measures such as immediate referral for investigation and filing of complaints or accusations will be taken.

The government plans to swiftly carry out the expanded inspection, announce interim results early next year, and comprehensively review legality and system improvements to announce the final inspection results in the first half of next year.