Clash over Blue Whale Project

[Anchor]

The results of the first drilling at the Donghae gas field project have been released, indicating that securing economic viability is difficult.

This has led to political aftershocks.

Within and outside the ruling party, there are criticisms that public officials are being cautious of the opposition party, citing the lack of prior consultation with the ruling party before the announcement.

The Democratic Party criticized the People Power Party for allegedly threatening government officials.

Kim Min-hyuk reports.

[Report]

At the government-party meeting held yesterday (Feb. 7) to review livelihood measures, the floor leader Kwon Seong-dong made a significant statement.

[Kwon Seong-dong/People Power Party Floor Leader: "The ruling party will block the opposition party's political offensive. I urge public officials to focus on their roles without wavering."]

In the subsequent closed meeting, Floor Leader Kwon mentioned the conduct of public officials amid the impeachment political climate.

He reportedly said, "There are cases where public officials lose their political neutrality," and urged deputy ministers to take active personnel actions against such officials.

This seems to be related to the criticism from within and outside the ruling party that public officials are being cautious of the opposition party, in regards to the briefing from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the lack of economic viability in the first Blue Whale Drilling Project on February 6th.

One lawmaker who attended the meeting stated, "It was mentioned that personnel changes need to return to normal to restore the disrupted public service discipline," and added that "the attendees from the ministries also agreed."

The Democratic Party immediately countered, saying, "What neutrality have public officials failed to maintain?"

They argued, "It is a situation where about 100 billion won of taxpayer money could be wasted," questioning how reporting the results of taxpayer investment could be twisted into being cautious of the opposition.

[Han Min-soo/Democratic Party Spokesperson: "The emergency response committee chair had also insisted on additional drilling without acknowledging its failure, and now Floor Leader Kwon has resorted to threatening government officials."]

They further criticized the People Power Party, asking if they intend to silence not only the media but also public officials.

In response, the People Power Party stated that the deputy minister from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy did not even attend the government-party meeting and emphasized that they urged public officials to do their best in accordance with the Constitution and principles.

KBS News, Kim Min-hyuk.