Foul-smelling public power company

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power is the lone company to receive the lowest grade of "E" in the national audit of 59 state-run corporations this year. When Shin Woo-ryong, former adviser to the preparation committee for the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak, was an internal auditor, a service provider came to his office and left 40 million won (35,000 U.S. dollars) in his room as an apparent bribe. Under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Cho Chang-rae became an internal auditor after he lost in the general elections as a candidate for the then ruling Uri Party in 2004. Immediately after his appointment, he “happened” to meet a broker and introduced him to the company’s top management at a sushi restaurant run by the presidential aide for political affairs.

Twenty-two executives of the water and nuclear power company were arrested on the charge of taking bribes of a combined 2.2 billion won (1.9 million dollars) from the broker over the supply of nuclear plant parts. A government agency in charge of nuclear reactors received fake parts in return for bribes. The kickback taking continued even after a colleague under investigation killed himself, and 100 employees on the site remained silent when the No. l Gori nuclear reactor suffered a blackout Feb. 9. If this fiasco was a movie, it would be a thriller studded with zombies. In a thriller, an outsider would jump in to kick off the zombies. For Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, however, this was impossible because the auditor was appointed by the administration.

The post of auditor at a state-run company has often been considered a reward from the president to politicians who contributed to his election because the job has fewer responsibilities than those of the CEO and is under weaker supervision by the public. Politicians accounted for 24 percent of auditors at state-run companies under the Kim Young-sam administration, 32 percent under the Kim Dae-jung administration, and more than 40 percent under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. The Lee Myung-bak administration is no exception despite its attempt at “public reform.” Excluding two empty seats, 62 percent of 52 state-run companies in 2009 had auditors who previously worked for the ruling party, election camp and the presidential transition committee. The share decreased slightly after President Lee in 2010 declared his intent to create a “fair society” on Liberation Day, but the figure remained around 60 percent.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power President Kim Gyun-seop said, “We deeply regret and desperately apologize.” He pledged to adopt a “one-strike” system that would require dismissal of a staff member who accepts a bribe regardless of the reason and amount. The bulletin board on the company’s website allows the reading of the postings such as “A Letter to the CEO,” “What is Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power?” only by the writer but not others. If the CEO and auditor are changed but not the “zombie culture,” corruption cannot be rooted out.

Editorial Writer Kim Sun-deok (yuri@donga.com)