‘Blue Whale’ Project Faces Growing Criticism as Lawmakers Debate Feasibility and Transparency

On Tuesday, various political sources reported that the Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee (ITESC) will hold a plenary session on February 19 to address current issues related to the “Blue Whale” project, which has been embroiled in economic viability controversies.

During a phone interview, Kim Won, the opposition party’s secretary in the ITESC, said the plenary session will include a report and discussion of current issues concerning the “Blue Whale” project. Some within the party call for an audit request to the Board of Audit and Inspection, while others suggest a parliamentary investigation at the committee level.

Regarding the government’s decision to continue exploration of the remaining six promising structures despite the first drilling results, Kim emphasized, “Given the lack of public consensus and lost trust, the project should be halted and reassessed from scratch. The analysis conducted by Actgeo, a U.S. deep-sea technology evaluation firm, should be transparently disclosed and its validity examined first.”

The government maintains that it has identified significant oil structures from the first drilling results in the East Sea gas field. They plan to increase the success rate through four additional drillings in the remaining six promising structures.

Some lawmakers suggested that preliminary feasibility studies should be mandatory for additional drilling. An ITESC member stated, “Keeping information confidential and proceeding unfairly is problematic. It’s crucial to ensure that preliminary feasibility studies are conducted.”

Previously, in October, Acting President and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang Mok responded to opposition calls for a preliminary feasibility study on the “Blue Whale” project, saying it would be judged after the first drilling.

The first exploratory drilling of the “Blue Whale” project, a key initiative of President Yoon Suk Yeol, effectively failed, and the opposition’s criticism is expected to intensify. A Democratic Party leadership member stated that the project requires investigation, emphasizing the need to find out how it began and who actively promoted it.

In contrast, the government and ruling party assert that the first drilling results do not indicate failure for the entire East Sea gas field. The presidential office stated, “This provisional result is not a definitive conclusion about the project, and exploratory drilling on the other six promising structures is still necessary.”

Park Soo Min, spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party’s unwarranted excitement over the “Blue Whale” project and said that the People Power Party also views resource development projects from a national management perspective. Park questioned, “If everything is viewed through the lens of insurrection, does the fundamental principle of the Constitution and national management become invisible?”