[Exclusive] Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Experiences 10-Hour Power Outage Due to Typhoon... Business IT Systems 'Down'

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Headquarters Experiences 10-Hour Power Outage in September Due to 'Hinnamno'
In-House ICT Center Shutdown... Internal Work Systems Non-Operational
Industry Department Unaware of Incident... Suspicions of Downplaying and Concealment

Panoramic view of the Gori Nuclear Power Plant located in Gijang-gun, Busan.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] It has been confirmed that the headquarters of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) experienced a power outage for 10 hours due to Typhoon Hin Nam No last September. On the day of the incident, the entire internal work system of KHNP was paralyzed. Concerns have been raised that there might have been a breach in the disaster response system of KHNP headquarters, which serves as the control tower for nuclear power generation in South Korea.

According to data submitted by KHNP to the office of Jeong Il-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 2nd, a power outage occurred at KHNP headquarters in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk Province, around 7:15 a.m. on September 6 this year. The outage was caused by problems in the power supply equipment that provides electricity to the KHNP headquarters building due to heavy rain from Typhoon Hin Nam No. KHNP restored the headquarters' power and communication facilities around 5:10 p.m., approximately 10 hours after the outage began.

During the 10 hours when the headquarters' power supply was cut off, KHNP's internal systems were completely down. The power outage at KHNP headquarters at that time caused the in-house Information and Communication Technology (ICT) center to stop operating. As a result, internal work systems such as electronic approval and email did not function properly, and mobile communication disruptions also occurred.

The system malfunction of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power on September 6th. [Photo by Jeong Il-young, Office of the Democratic Party of Korea]

There are criticisms that KHNP's disaster response system was inadequate. KHNP had issued a Class B disaster alert on the afternoon of September 5 in preparation for typhoon damage, but the power outage occurred the very next morning. Moreover, KHNP had already started emergency operations from September 4, two days before the headquarters power outage.

Suspicions have also been raised that the KHNP power outage incident was downplayed or concealed. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy maintained a 24-hour emergency work system from September 2 to 8, anticipating the typhoon's approach, but failed to properly recognize the KHNP power outage incident. In fact, the comprehensive situation room recorded the inspection results of 21 affiliated organizations, including KHNP, as "no abnormalities" in the work report on the day of the incident. The Ministry's post-typhoon compiled "Hin Nam No damage reception status" also states that aside from power outages at two affiliated organizations, including Korea Gas Corporation's Busan and Gyeongnam business offices, there was no damage to other affiliated organizations.

Status of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power blackout incident during Typhoon 'Hinnamnor' landfall.
[Photo by Jeong Il-young, Office of the Democratic Party of Korea]

KHNP stated that although the headquarters power outage caused disruptions to work, there was no financial damage. In data submitted to Jeong's office, KHNP said, "Although the interruption of work systems caused inconvenience in handling tasks for headquarters and branch office employees, there is no record of financial damage."

Jeong said, "This is a serious issue where KHNP headquarters, the control tower for nuclear power plant safety, was completely stopped due to wind and flood damage," adding, "Nevertheless, it appears that KHNP did not report the incident to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy." He continued, "It is necessary to investigate whether the Ministry tried to hide the KHNP headquarters power outage incident or if KHNP itself concealed or downplayed the event, and hold those responsible accountable."