Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
On-site probe on energy diplomacy begins
By Jun Ji-hye
The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) began on-site inspections Wednesday in eight countries to examine the failed energy diplomacy conducted under the Lee Myung-bak government.
High-ranking officials including the board’s secretary general joined the inspection teams. It is unprecedented for the state auditor to dispatch high-level officials for on-site inspections.
“Officials with ample experience joined the teams as the inspections involve complex issues,” said BAI Secretary General Kim Young-ho. “The teams will thoroughly examine what has happened to the projects.”
The BAI has formed five teams to examine sites including a bituminous coal mine in Australia, a copper mine in Chile and an oilfield in Canada. The teams will also inspect 13 overseas branches of the Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and the Korea Resources Corp.
The state auditor also included two experts from the Korea Energy Economics Institute.
The inspections are part of the BAI’s investigation targeting three state-run energy companies, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. They were the main bodies involved with Lee’s overseas resource development projects that wasted tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.
During a meeting with reporters Friday, Kim said the three companies spent 31.4 trillion won ($28.7 billion) on 116 energy projects abroad since 2003. Of this amount, 27 trillion won was invested during the Lee administration.
He noted that the firms already suffered net losses of 3.4 trillion won.
“A total of 34.3 trillion won needs to be invested further, but it is uncertain how much money the companies can redeem,” he added.
BAI is planning to release the results of its inspection and suggest remedial alternatives as early as July.
For its part, the National Assembly has decided to extend its investigation until May 2 to uncover the extent of the waste on the botched projects.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) came up with an agreement Tuesday as the special investigative committee’s initial remit expired that day.
The agreement came amid mounting skepticism about the results of a parliamentary probe as the four-day hearings scheduled for March 31, April 1, 3, and 6 did not take place due to rival parties bickering about who should testify.
The two parties have so far failed to narrow their differences, increasing the likelihood that the probe could eventually end without any results despite an extension of 25 days.
The NPAD is calling on former President Lee and four other key figures, including his older brother and former lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk, to appear before the hearings, while the governing party is expressing its opposition to such plans.
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