A deliberation committee has advised the prosecution against additional charges against former Industry Minister Paik Un-gyu, who is already indicted over the controversial closure of an aging nuclear reactor.

The committee held a meeting on Wednesday and decided that the former minister should not be indicted on charges of dereliction of duty and instigating obstruction of business. Out of the 15 members, nine said he should not be indicted, while the other six said he should. 

Paik was indicted in June of abuse of power and obstruction of business for his alleged role in the government’s closure of the country’s second-oldest reactor, Wolsong-1, which was closed in 2019, three years before its original mandate. 

Prosecutors have argued that the former minister abused his authority and by doing so incurred 148 billion won worth of damages to the reactor’s operator, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Paik has denied the charges, saying it was a purely policy decision.