Businessman Arrested for Lobbying with 100 Million Won in Saemangeum Floating Solar Project

"Possibility of Evidence Destruction"

A broker accused of accepting money to lobby in connection with the Saemangeum floating solar power project has been arrested.

Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office.

The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office National Financial Crime Joint Investigation Team (Chief Prosecutor Min Kyung-ho) announced on the 18th that Seo, the CEO of Gunsan Citizen Development Co., Ltd., was arrested on charges of accepting bribes. It is reported that the court issued the arrest warrant due to concerns over the possibility of evidence destruction.

According to the prosecution, Seo is accused of receiving about 100 million won in exchange for making business-related requests to public officials in Gunsan City, Jeonbuk, as well as political and government figures in 2020.

At that time, as the Saemangeum project was delayed due to environmental pollution complaints from civic groups, the prosecution identified that Choi, the head of the Saemangeum Solar Power project, a special purpose company (SPC) jointly established by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Hyundai Global, made such requests to Seo.

Choi was arrested on the 9th on charges of embezzling about 240 million won by inflating design or permit service fees during the Saemangeum project and then reclaiming the excess funds for personal use.

The Saemangeum floating solar power project is the largest floating solar project to date, creating a power generation complex over an area approximately 10 times the size of Yeouido. The total project cost amounts to 4.62 trillion won.