It was confirmed on the 17th that Hwang Ju-ho, whose term as president of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power expired last month, has submitted his resignation. His resignation is expected to be processed no later than this week.
According to the nuclear power industry that day, Hwang submitted his resignation and is waiting for the government to notify him of the processing of his resignation. The processing of Hwang's resignation must go through a recommendation by Minister Kim Jeong-gwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and acceptance by President Lee Jae-myung.
Hwang, who took office on Aug. 22, 2022, officially completed his term on 21st last month but remained in the post because a successor had not been decided. Under the Act on the Management of Public Institutions, the head of an institution must continue performing duties until a successor is appointed, even after the term ends.
However, it appears he submitted his resignation amid continued pressure from the ruling party to step down. On 22nd last month, lawmakers on the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee of the Democratic Party publicly called for Hwang's resignation, saying the contracts KHNP and Korea Electric Power Corporation signed with Westinghouse were unfair.
They argued that KHNP entered into an unfair agreement with Westinghouse in January this year to win the Dukovany new nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic. KHNP and KEPCO are said to have signed a contract to pay Westinghouse a $175 million technology royalty (about 240 billion won) every time they export one nuclear reactor over the next 50 years and to purchase equipment worth $650 million (about 900 billion won).
The Democratic Party called it "a humiliating agreement that hands over the nation's interests and sovereignty wholesale," and argued it was "a traitorous agreement that abandons nuclear technology sovereignty and an act that shackles even our descendants."
Hwang attended a full session of the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee held at the National Assembly on 8th and answered "Yes" to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Won-i asking, "Do you intend to resign at an appropriate time?"
As the process of appointing the head of a public institution takes months, a vacancy in the KHNP presidency appears unavoidable for the time being.