Failed "Great Whale" Project Chief Promoted and Awarded Bonus?

KNOC Promotes to Vice President Despite Massive Tax Losses
Kwon Hyangyeop: "Those Responsible Thrive Even After Squandering 100 Billion Won in Taxpayer Money"

Korea National Oil Corporation, which has been in a state of complete capital erosion, was found to have granted the title of Vice President and even awarded a performance bonus to Kwak Wonjun, Head of the E&P/Energy Business Division, who was the chief executive of the "Great Whale Project" that resulted in massive tax losses.

According to the "Plan for the Use of External Titles for Executive Directors" submitted by Korea National Oil Corporation to Hyangyeop Kwon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Suncheon, Gwangyang, Gokseong, Gurye-eul, South Jeolla Province), on September 26, the corporation decided on December 30 of last year to assign the titles of CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) to the heads of the Planning and Finance Division and the E&P/Energy Business Division, respectively, both positions equivalent to executive directors, and to grant them the title of Vice President. As a result, Choi Moonkyu, Head of Planning and Finance, and Kwak Wonjun, Head of E&P/Energy Business, were both promoted to Vice President.

Hyangyeop Kwon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

This appointment by Korea National Oil Corporation took place during the power vacuum and chaos caused by martial law on December 3, following the National Assembly's impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol. The corporation explained that the move was "to facilitate smooth cooperation with external organizations such as government, media, and the National Assembly, as well as to attract investment for new businesses and participate in external meetings at the deputy head level."

However, controversy has arisen because Vice President Kwak was the chief executive of the Donghae deep-sea oilfield development project, known as the "Great Whale Project," which ultimately ended in failure. There are inevitable questions as to whether an executive who led a failed project and caused massive losses to the corporation is suitable for the role of attracting new business investment and establishing external cooperation. Furthermore, Vice President Kwak was also involved in the acquisition and operation of Canada Harvest, a failed overseas resource diplomacy project under the Lee Myung-bak administration that left the corporation with enormous debt.

Previously, at a press conference in June last year, Dr. Abreu of ActGeo, who explained the Donghae deep-sea oilfield development project, introduced Kwak as the person who "planned and oversaw the evaluation of the project." The "Great Whale Project" originated from former President Yoon Suk-yeol's first national briefing, where he announced the possibility that as much as 14 billion barrels of oil and gas could be buried off the coast of Yeongilman, Pohang.

However, exploration results revealed that the gas saturation was only 6%, far below the economic feasibility threshold of 40%. In February of this year, then-Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deokgeun acknowledged the project's failure, and on September 21, the government officially declared the project's failure. During the course of the project, it is estimated that over 130 billion won in losses were incurred, including 126.3 billion won for exploration and drilling, 4.1 billion won for ActGeo's analysis services, and 1.4 billion won for detailed analysis.

Since 2020, the corporation has been in a state of "complete capital erosion," with liabilities exceeding assets and annual interest payments amounting to several hundred billion won. Such massive losses could even determine the corporation's survival. In fact, according to the public management information system ALIO, as of 2024, the corporation's assets were tallied at 20.4915 trillion won, while liabilities stood at 21.8131 trillion won, resulting in a total capital of minus 1.3216 trillion won.

Despite these circumstances, the corporation proceeded with its "2024 Organizational Performance Evaluation," awarding the Donghae Exploration Team, which was responsible for the Great Whale Project, 14.4 out of 15 points-an S grade. The Domestic Business Development Department under the E&P/Energy Business Division also received an A grade, and Vice President Kwak was awarded a performance bonus exceeding 300%.

In May of this year, Kwon Ig-yun, a professor at Kongju National University who was both a co-author of Vice President Kwak's thesis and a technical advisory committee member for the Great Whale Project, was appointed president of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

Assemblywoman Kwon criticized, "In Yoon Suk-yeol's first national briefing, he claimed the Great Whale was 'five times the market capitalization of Samsung Electronics,' yet 126.3 billion won in taxpayer money has evaporated. The Great Whale project has failed, but those who led and advised on the project are thriving, having been promoted under the previous administration."