Suspicious contracts uncovered during KINS audit > IT/과학기사 | it/science

Allegations have surfaced that the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety KINS under the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission funneled contracts worth 17.9 billion won $13.3 million for radiation safety services and equipment to a specific company without proper evaluations.

This company delivered XeMS, a device used to detect North Korean nuclear tests, without submitting any test reports. Some KINS researchers involved are known to be now under police investigation for suspected bribery and other misconduct.


According to documents obtained by Representative Lee Hai-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party from KINS on Monday, the institute signed 267 contracts with a company referred to as A based in Daejeon for services and goods amounting to 17.9 billion won. This figure is the second-highest amount paid by KINS to any contractor, surpassed only by Daejeon Public Procurement Service, which received 24.2 billion won.

The documents were information about contracts at KINS from January 2013 to August 2024.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission conducted a specific audit into the xenon detection equipment project in March 2023 following a tip-off from a former employee of Company A. The audit revealed that most of the work KINS had undertaken to localize xenon detection equipment was copied from foreign products. It also found further irregularities, including suspicions that KINS outsourced the production of a localized xenon detection device, known as XeMS, to Company A.

Despite lacking test reports and equipment operation verification documents, the technology is known to have passed inspection and was improperly marked as completed, while the audit also uncovered collusion in the bidding process.

KINS allegedly split orders for High-Pressure Ionization Chambers HPICs, ensuring Company A would win the bid by having the top-ranked companies withdraw. The Fair Trade Commission is currently investigation Company A for violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.

Despite the audit and revelations, KINS continued to sign contracts with Company A, totaling 3.7 billion won across 27 contracts since the audit began. KINS also refused to acknowledge the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission’s findings of research misconduct, including the copying of foreign products during the localization process of the xenon detection equipment.

“It is intolerable for a public institution to conspire with a specific company to unfairly allocate contracts,” Lee said. “The fact that KINS has become a corrupt organization protecting its own members raises significant concerns about the safety of nuclear and radiation operations in this country.”

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