{"id":2202093,"date":"2023-08-29T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T23:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2202093"},"modified":"2023-11-20T16:26:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T07:26:28","slug":"investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigation into solar power corruption as Yoon targets Moon\u2019s energy policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Jeonju Prosecutor\u2019s Office <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spo.go.kr\/site\/jeongeup\/ex\/board\/List.do?cbIdx=1403\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the indictment of a former chairman of Jeongeup City Council in North Jeolla Province and a 68-year-old solar power business operator in a high-profile corruption case. Investigators claim the two unnamed individuals inflated construction costs related to a solar power generation project and accepted bribes from contractors, leading to a misappropriation of about $1.3 million (1.7 billion won) from financial institutions between Oct. 2018 and Jan. 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prosecutors also allege that the business operator gave the former chairman approximately\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$65,000 (86 million won) in bribes from July to Sept. 2020 related to solar power plant installation, operation and permits. Six other accomplices were indicted without detention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Jeonju Prosecutor\u2019s Office indictment of a former Jeongeup City Council chairman and a solar power business operator sheds light on deeper tensions in the South Korean political landscape. This action is just one facet of President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s broader inquiry into alleged corrupt solar energy endeavors undertaken during the tenure of his predecessor, Moon Jae-in. As early as Sept. 2022, Yoon had <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.koreaherald.com\/view.php?ud=20220915000625\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">expressed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that irregularities in solar power projects were \u201cdeplorable\u201d since \u201ctaxes were used [to support] a cartel of private interests.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While framed as an effort to maintain transparency and integrity in governance, these investigations can also be interpreted as partisan pushback against Moon\u2019s legacy. Renewable energy, particularly solar power, was a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/southkorea-energy-idUSL4N1OJ2KR\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cornerstone<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Moon\u2019s policy agenda, aimed at transitioning South Korea toward renewable energy sources. The current scrutiny, highlighted by instances like the alleged misconduct in selecting preferred bidders for government-funded projects, threatens to cast a shadow over these initiatives. As the Yoon administration seeks to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kedglobal.com\/business-politics\/newsView\/ked202307110012\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">undo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> much of Moon\u2019s energy policy, the fallout from these investigations will significantly impact South Korea\u2019s political and energy sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/business-economy\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Business &amp; Economy<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/domestic-politics\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/technology-cyber\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Technology &amp; Cyber<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Jeonju Prosecutor\u2019s Office announced the indictment of a former chairman of Jeongeup City Council in North Jeolla Province and a 68-year-old solar power business operator in a high-profile corruption case. Investigators claim the two unnamed individuals inflated construction costs related to a solar power generation project and accepted bribes from contractors, leading to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2202794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[24,27,29],"class_list":["post-2202093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-business-economy","tag-domestic-politics","tag-technology-cyber"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Investigation into solar power corruption as Yoon targets Moon\u2019s energy policy - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Investigation into solar power corruption as Yoon targets Moon\u2019s energy policy - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Jeonju Prosecutor\u2019s Office announced the indictment of a former chairman of Jeongeup City Council in North Jeolla Province and a 68-year-old solar power business operator in a high-profile corruption case. Investigators claim the two unnamed individuals inflated construction costs related to a solar power generation project and accepted bribes from contractors, leading to a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-28T23:00:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-20T07:26:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-16.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"548\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"johnleenknews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"johnleenknews\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b9766dba611638edc06a6e0b7078714d\"},\"headline\":\"Investigation into solar power corruption as Yoon targets Moon\u2019s energy policy\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-28T23:00:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-20T07:26:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/\"},\"wordCount\":304,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/investigation-into-solar-power-corruption-as-yoon-targets-moons-energy-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/eb-16.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Business &amp; 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