The Board of Audit and Inspection issued a special audit on the background of the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) project, which provides tax reductions and exemptions to buildings with high energy efficiency, and the RPS ratio in April last year was significantly increased (10% → 25%). was found to have started. To this end, a new and renewable energy special audit team was also formed. In a sample survey conducted under the Moon Jae-in administration, the Office of Government Policy Coordination found cases of illegal execution of 260 billion won, and President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered that “those who arbitrarily spend people’s taxes should be severely punished.” They were aiming for ‘renewable cartel corruption’.
According to high-ranking government officials on the 18th, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a special audit to see if the ZEB project has recently become a means of making money for some private institutions. The ZEB project started in 2016, but gained momentum after the Moon Jae-in government took office. From 2020, ZEB certification has become mandatory for all public buildings with a total floor area of more than 1,000 square meters. The Board of Audit and Inspection pays attention to the fact that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy designated nine institutions as energy efficiency rating certification agencies and limited the number of appraisers (currently 61) who belong to them to perform certification tasks. . From 2016 to last month, 9 institutions have received 110 billion won in fees for certification work, and they want to see if there are any problems in this process.
The Board of Audit and Inspection is also paying attention to the fact that all energy appraisers belonging to the certification body are ‘unqualified persons’ who have not received the compulsory education provided by the Korea Energy Agency, and the Korea Energy Agency has not given any practical training since 2018.
The Board of Audit and Inspection is also known to investigate the background of the Ministry of Industry’s rapid increase of the RPS ratio from 10% to 25% in April last year, and whether this has resulted in an increase in KEPCO’s deficit and an increased burden on the public. RPS is a system that mandates power generation companies to supply more than a certain percentage of electricity through renewable energy such as solar power. If this ratio rises, the cost of purchasing new and renewable energy from KEPCO will increase.
Four institutions monopolized ‘ZEB certification’… 10 billion in certification fees every year
RPS ratio increase is also a ‘target’… It suddenly increased from 10% last year to 25%
The reason the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a special audit on the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) project and the increase in the Renewable Energy Supply Responsibility (RPS) ratio is analyzed to reflect the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s intention to strictly punish the previous government’s ‘new and renewable cartel corruption’. As a result of a sample investigation of 2.1 trillion won among the 12 trillion won power industry infrastructure fund project conducted during the Moon Jae-in administration, the Office of Government Policy Coordination found 261.6 billion won of illegal and unfair cases and decided to expand the sample investigation to a full investigation. In response, President Yoon said, “It is deplorable,” and said, “Those who arbitrarily spend people’s taxes should be severely punished.” This is where the Audit Office is also included. It is predicted that an investigation into the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which designed the ZEB system and raised the RPS ratio, will also be inevitable.
First, the Board of Audit and Inspection plans to examine whether there were any problems in the process of certification bodies earning 110 billion won in commission income after 2016 through zero-energy building certification. According to the ‘Building Energy Efficiency Rating Certification Status’ submitted by the Korea Energy Agency to Rep. Han Moo-kyung to the People’s Power on the 18th, nine zero-energy building certification institutions (4 private, 5 public) were 21,372 from 2016 to last month. It earned 114.25 billion won in commission income through the verification of proposals. Among them, four private institutions, including the Korea Building Energy Technology Institute, the Korea Productivity Center Certification Institute, the Korea Education, Green Environment Research Institute, and the Korea Environmental Architecture Research Institute, monopolized 75% of the certification work. These institutions earned a total of 9 to 17.3 billion won in commission income each year.
There are 31 building energy appraisers affiliated with the four institutions. They performed 100 cases of energy efficiency rating certification per person (a total of 3174 cases). In the energy industry, there is even a saying that “the fact that one person has certified 100 cases per year means that all energy efficiency ratings are fake.”
The Board of Audit and Inspection believes that there are cases in which commission income is not paid as the salary of an energy appraiser affiliated with an institution but is caught as an institution’s income and is also known to be investigated. As a result, it is reported that the Board of Audit and Inspection suspects that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Industry, driving money-making means to specific institutions, have left them to mass-produce green buildings with only patterns.
The Board of Audit and Inspection is also paying attention to the fact that ZEB certification work is concentrated on a small number of private organizations and there are not enough appraisers to perform the work. From 2013 to 2021, 528 people passed the building energy appraiser test, but only 61 appraisers belonging to the certification body (30 public and 31 private) are actually performing the certification work. This is because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport restricted by law so that only appraisers affiliated with certification agencies could grant energy efficiency ratings.
In addition, the Korea Energy Agency provided legal practical training for appraisers who passed the certification exam only once in 2018. Except for the evaluators belonging to the certification body, even after obtaining the certification, they cannot receive practical training and cannot be put into certification work. All 61 managers belonging to the certification body were also reported to be unqualified without legal training. An official pointed out that “it is a trick to maintain the fee monopoly system of the certification body.” Although the Korea Energy Agency is in the position of being self-educated by a certification body, there is a high possibility of violating the law. “It means that the certification of energy efficiency ratings that have been made so far is actually illegal by an unqualified manager,” said a lawmaker.
The Board of Audit and Inspection is expected to examine whether the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s sharp increase in the upper limit of the RPS ratio in April last year only made the solar power producers hungry and sacrificed the majority of the people. The RPS cost borne by KEPCO increased from 1.612 trillion won in 2017 to 3.264.9 trillion won last year. In 2026, when the RPS ratio must be increased to 25% according to the government policy, this cost is expected to soar to 6.65 trillion won.
■ Zero Energy Building (ZEB)
A building that uses renewable energy to minimize energy consumption. Depending on the certification grade, the floor area ratio and height restrictions will be relaxed by 11 to 15%, and the highest income tax will also be reduced by 15%. From 2020, it has been mandatory for public buildings with a total floor area of 1,000 m2 or more, and from 2030, it will be compulsory for all buildings with a total floor area of 500 m2 or more.
■ Renewable supply obligation (RPS)
A system that obligates power generation companies to supply more than a certain percentage of electricity produced through renewable energy.
Reporter Lee Ji-hoon lizi@hankyung.com