[National Audit Issue 'Kepco University'] 3m in front of the back gate is a barrier... Alone in the middle of the construction site

'Moon Administration's National Task' Korea Electric Power University... One Building on 400,000㎡ Site
Controversy Over 'Premature Opening' in March This Year... Students Must Pass Construction Site on Way to School
'Caution: Vehicles' Warning Signs... 6m High Barriers Surround School
Hot Topic at This Year's National Audit... Criticisms of 'Hasty Implementation'

Construction site of Korea Energy Engineering University (KEPCO University) campus. In the rear right, the only completed facility of KEPCO University, a four-story main building, can be seen.
Photo by Joonhyung Lee

[Asia Economy, Naju=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] 400,000㎡.

This is the site area of Korea Energy Engineering University (KEEU) in Naju, Jeollanam-do, visited on the 11th. Considering that the size of one soccer field is approximately 7,140㎡, this area is large enough to fit 56 soccer fields. This scale directly reflects the ambition of the Moon Jae-in administration, which promoted the establishment of KEEU as a key national agenda. The previous government envisioned developing KEEU into one of the world’s top 10 engineering universities, comparable to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

The problem is that the government’s ambition to open the university ‘within its term’ led to a rushed opening. KEEU opened in March with only one four-story building on the 400,000㎡ site. The school infrastructure, which began construction in June last year, is expected to be completed around 2025. Students are currently staying in a temporary dormitory remodeled from the nearby Booyoung CC golf hotel. The university library, temporarily set up in the only building, the main hall, is only 226㎡ (about 68 pyeong) in size.

Main entrance of the Korea Energy Engineering University (KEEU) main building. Construction site barriers are visible on the right.
[Photo by Joonhyung Lee]

The Golf Hotel as Dormitory

On the day of the visit, traces of the rushed opening were evident throughout KEEU. Students staying in the temporary dormitory, located about a 20-minute walk away, must pass by the campus site where construction is actively underway to attend lectures in the main hall. At the construction site entrance on the path to the main hall, a notice board warned, “Please be cautious as vehicles enter and exit when alerts occur.” Construction noise was consistently heard not only on the way to school but also inside the main hall.

Upon passing the construction site and entering the school, the first thing visible is a steel fence painted with grass patterns. The main hall, the only building on the site, is situated in the middle of the construction area and is surrounded on all sides by 6-meter-high fences. The fence is so close that it is about 3 meters from the back door of the main hall. The area in front of the back door was entirely shaded due to the fence rising to the height of the building’s second floor.

The shaded rear entrance of the Korea Energy Engineering University (KEPCO University) main building due to construction site barriers.
Photo by Lee Jun-hyung

There were no proper street trees either. The few street trees planted near the main hall were mostly young trees about 2 to 3 meters tall. There was no tree-shaded path from the school entrance to the main hall. Also, the bus stop on the four-lane road in front of the main hall was not yet serviced by buses. To catch a bus, students must walk about 730 meters from the main hall to another bus stop.

"Bypassing the Responsible Ministry"

As a result, KEEU became a ‘hot potato’ during this year’s National Assembly audit of power groups. In particular, the ruling party heavily criticized KEEU during the on-site audit held on the 11th at the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) headquarters in Naju, Jeollanam-do. Kim Sung-won, a member of the People Power Party, said during the audit, “KEPCO has turned into an ATM for KEEU,” adding, “The balance of the Power Industry Infrastructure Fund is rapidly decreasing, and KEPCO is in a position where it must continue supporting KEEU.” This was interpreted as pointing out that KEPCO, which is in a ‘deficit swamp,’ must secure thousands of billions of won for the establishment and operation of KEEU.

There were also criticisms that KEPCO bypassed the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the responsible ministry, while rushing the establishment process of KEEU in line with government policy. According to documents KEPCO submitted to the office of Park Soo-young, a member of the People Power Party, KEPCO directly sent an official letter to the Blue House in September 2018 requesting the formation of the ‘KEEU Establishment Support Committee.’ Park Soo-young said, “KEPCO bypassed the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and ignored the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s advice to proceed with caution regarding financial impacts,” adding, “There is no doubt that there were procedural flaws in the establishment of KEEU.” Regarding this, Hwang Ju-ho, president of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, said, “I believe the establishment process was not normal.”