A state-run power plant operator has spent more than 15 billion won (US$13.3 million) of taxpayer money building five golf driving ranges for its employees, including one built with the funds from budget for two unfinished Shin Kori reactors, a lawmaker said Monday.

Rep. Kim Jung-hoo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, citing data received from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNP), said that the company is running the driving ranges at company housing facilities near power plants.

One of them was built in the southeastern city of Ulsan and cost 7.84 billion won; another in nearby Wolseong cost 3.28 billion won; a third near the southeastern county of Uljin was 3.26 billion won; a fourth in the southwestern county of Yeonggwang was 1 billion won; and a fifth in the central county of Muju cost 350 million won, according to the data.

In particular, the biggest one in Ulsan was built with money allocated to the Shin Kori No. 5 and No. 6 reactors, which have been at the center of public attention due to President Moon Jae-in's proposal to abandon the construction.

Last Friday, a state commission recommended that the government resume the construction after an official survey found that more people support resumption rather than abandonment of the reactors that were about 30 percent complete before their suspension.

Kim said, "It's questionable whether the KHNP's board of directors and audit system are properly functioning."

Source : Yonhap