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Mopping the dirt off of solar power panels

Published: 15 Nov. 2023, 20:01

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) discovered hundreds of government and public employees illegally profiting from solar energy projects under the previous Moon Jae-in administration. It discovered that 182 relatives of Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) workers were running solar farms without reporting them to the authorities. 47 of those employees ran their operations under their family members’ names. One employee of Kepco operated six wind mills for 880 million won ($672,834) in profit by securing lucrative locations through insider information.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s initiative to subsidize farmers who ran solar panel business on their land also brimmed with illegalities. About 44 percent of the farmers hurriedly secured licenses to farm, although they were not originally in the farming business. An official in charge of registering farmers to conduct solar power business registered himself to enjoy the benefit. In Gunsan, North Jeolla, a high school friend of the mayor was awarded a 127 billion won worth solar project in Saemangeum, North Jeolla, although he’d previously run an eyeglass shop and helped the mayor during his campaign.

The city government awarded the person a large-scale project by inflating his interview scores. An energy ministry official also persuaded one of his colleagues to issue the acquaintance a state permit to allow a change in the land’s purpose. That official later served as the CEO of a company in the solar business.

The solar power sector became the epicenter of corruption because the Moon administration recklessly promoted the technology to drive its renewable energy policy agenda. The BAI found that the government target’s goal of hoisting the renewable’s share of the energy pie up to 30 percent by 2030 was over the top. Lacking infrastructure measures, despite the ambitious target, bred the solar power’s boon — and its corruption.

The BAI says that the former liberal administration misled the public by claiming electricity bills would rise just 10.9 percent by 2030, when renewable energy is expected to replace nuclear power and fossil fuels in producing electricity. Although the energy ministry knew that phasing out nuclear power in favor of renewables could raise electricity rates by nearly 40 percent, it spread a different projection based on the arbitrary estimate that the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources would fall.

Kepco announced a plan to investigate the employees charged with allegations of illegal activities and punish them with demotions and dismissals. Along with punishing involved officials, presidential aides who ordered the manipulation of document filing should be probed so that the reckless policy, made only to meet the president’s campaign pledges, does not create further economic damages.