It ain't that there's nothing else to talk about...

And it's far from my favorite topic; but I just don't see anyone else really passing this information, and a couple of you guys have said you appreciate it- so; from NHK; again:


S.Korea nuclear plant officials indicted for graft

"South Korean prosecutors say they have indicted dozens of senior officials at a state-run utility for taking bribes in return for business favors. The Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office said on Tuesday it indicted 22 officials at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, along with 9 others who worked for suppliers or as brokers.

"Prosecutors said the bribes amounted to about 1.9 million dollars in total.  They said officials at the utility's nuclear plant in Gori in the southern region received bribes in return for tolerating delivery of supplies that did not meet safety standards.  They said other officials instructed suppliers to pad their bills and then pocketed some of the excess.

"The safety of nuclear power plants has drawn attention in South Korea following the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan last year.

"The revelation of systemic corruption while compromising nuclear safety could severely undermine public trust in South Korea in nuclear power generation.
Jul. 11, 2012 - Updated 07:03 UTC (16:03 JST)"
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Yeah, I think that's news.  And powerful ammunition for those combating nukes around the world.  Anybody wanna bet what's hiding under the rug in France?  Maybe the new proprietors there will take a look now; after this incident of "dozens" of "senior officials" taking bribes for installing sub-standard materials- in a nuclear facility.

It will not turn out well.  There will be another Fukushima event in our future, of course.  My guess is, we'll see little real action on shutting down nukes until that happens.  My best two candidates- France, which is incredibly arrogant about their nuclear technology, inspite of their actual record not being that good, and the USA- likewise.  Plenty of chances for things to go wrong, in both places.  And- do you think the chances of corruption are increasing, or decreasing, as the years go by?  It's been a long time since I've seen a headline saying "Investigators find (x) to be squeaky clean."
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UPDATE: Roz, in the comments, pointed out the NHK link no longer works (which is why I quote it in toto; they usually quit working in 24 hrs.)  But- doing a little Google search, I was able to find the story again.  Not on any big international news feeds; of course.  On a South Korean news feed.  I haven't been to that site before, so not sure how long it will work, but longer than NHK, apparently.  Do take a look; there are more details.  And isn't it just amazing that no one else in the journalistic world has picked this up?  My, my.