The issue of Korea Electric Power (KEPCO) executives and employees concurrently running solar power businesses has come under renewed scrutiny.
Seventeen employees were found to have continued operating their existing businesses after being disciplined and were caught again, prompting criticism over the effectiveness of follow-up management.
KEPCO considers employees to be in violation of its ban on concurrent employment if, regardless of the ownership name or form of a solar power business, they participate in management decisions or become directly or indirectly involved in profit-making activities.
According to data released by the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Eo Ki-ku, a member of the National Assembly Committee on Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor, disciplinary actions related to concurrent solar power businesses totaled 280 from 2021 through August 2026.
By year, disciplinary actions peaked at 126 in 2023, when a large-scale audit was conducted, before falling to 95 in 2024 and 23 in 2025. This year, through August, there were 15 disciplinary actions, including 10 suspensions, three salary reductions and two dismissals. By type, the measures comprised 231 suspensions, 29 salary reductions, 17 dismissals and three reprimands.
The lawmaker's office particularly pointed out that 17 employees were caught again and disciplined after maintaining their concurrent employment status without winding up their businesses despite having already been disciplined. Of these, 11 received suspensions and six were dismissed. It also criticized KEPCO's inadequate follow-up management, saying that in 48 of the disciplinary cases, it was unclear or improperly managed whether the concurrent employment status had actually been resolved after the measures were imposed.
The controversy stems from an extensive audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) into employees' concurrent involvement in solar power businesses. In the results of its November 2023 audit of renewable energy project implementation, the BAI found that around 250 employees and officials of public institutions, including KEPCO, had violated the ban on concurrent employment and operated solar power plants under their own names or those of family members and relatives. Some employees were found to have used internal information acquired through their work to secure advantageous sites in advance or to have engaged in private profit-making activities during working hours. The findings sparked broader public controversy over public-sector employees' pursuit of personal gain and internal control.
Immediately after the BAI released its audit findings, KEPCO apologized to the public and launched an additional investigation. Its subsequent internal audit identified 31 more employees involved in misconduct related to concurrent solar power businesses. KEPCO also introduced a one-strike-out system to strengthen internal controls. According to KEPCO, employees caught again were dismissed through 2024, but starting in 2025, the company strengthened its disciplinary standards under a zero-tolerance principle, dismissing employees after a single violation.
However, the controversy has not easily subsided because concerns over KEPCO employees' concurrent involvement in solar power businesses have continued to emerge. A significant number of employees who received severe disciplinary measures also faced public criticism after filing lawsuits seeking to invalidate the disciplinary actions and applications for injunctions, claiming they had not directly operated the businesses. Political circles have likewise continued to question the effectiveness of follow-up management and sanctions for such misconduct.
KEPCO maintains that the issues currently being raised do not stem from new cases of misconduct involving concurrent employment, but from disciplinary actions related to cases identified during previous audits and a comprehensive investigation.
A KEPCO official rebutted the criticism, saying, "These are simply disciplinary measures being imposed sequentially following the BAI audit in 2023 and a large-scale comprehensive investigation in 2024. Not a single new case of misconduct involving concurrent employment has occurred since 2024." The official added, "Disciplinary decisions were sometimes delayed because of lawsuits and other factors, while the cases of employees caught again were not ignored. Rather, they resulted from strong action taken during KEPCO's ongoing internal inspections and follow-up management." Regarding the 48 cases of follow-up management issues cited by the lawmaker's office, the official said, "We are thoroughly carrying out follow-up management for disciplined employees and continuously monitoring them. We will prevent recurrence through an internal control system covering everything from advance prevention to monitoring, investigation and follow-up management."
Kim So-hyeong, Reporter compact@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
