The Special Judicial Police of the Ministry of Environment announced on the 22nd that it will refer representatives of companies that manufactured and distributed substandard fuel oil to the prosecution. They are facing allegations of violating the Waste Management Act.
The Special Judicial Police of the Ministry of Environment launched an investigation into substandard fuel oil following a fire and explosion incident at a bathhouse in Busan in September 2023. The fire occurred due to the use of substandard fuel oil that did not meet the Waste Management Act standards.
The Special Judicial Police reviewed waste transfer information and conducted undercover investigations for several days, resulting in the identification of Company A, represented by an individual named Kim, and related waste collection and transportation company B.
It has been revealed that Kim and his accomplices sold waste oil and waste solvents disguised as fuel oil without undergoing a normal fuel oil manufacturing process.
They are estimated to have earned approximately 11.6 billion won in revenue over four years from 2020 by either mixing or selling cheap waste oil and waste solvents.
Kim and his accomplices utilized a test report analyzed with fake samples that met legal standards to conceal their crimes. Along with this, they falsely created waste transfer documents and waste recycling ledgers to make it appear as though waste and other materials were being properly recycled. This constitutes a violation of the Waste Management Act.
In the process, it was revealed that waste collection and transportation company B illegally lent its name to Kim and his accomplices. The Special Judicial Police of the Ministry of Environment referred both Kim and the representative of company B to the prosecution on charges of violating the Waste Management Act.
Yoo Seong, the environmental investigation officer of the Ministry of Environment (Special Judicial Police), noted, "If illegal fuel oil that does not meet legal standards is used in the daily lives and workplaces of citizens, it poses a serious threat to public safety, potentially leading to fires or explosions. We will continue to thoroughly uncover criminal activities that disrupt public safety and the environmental law system through investigations."