From 2004 to August this year, South Korea has witnessed 24,900 cases of industrial electricity theft.
On October 25, according to foreign media reports, the website phonearena cited South Korean media as reporting that multiple companies including Samsung and LG are suspected of having stolen national "industrial electricity" in South Korea for nearly 10 years.
In South Korea, the state's "industrial electricity" is cheaper than other types of electricity bills, but it only applies to production equipment and facilities in manufacturing, mining, etc., while electricity usage in other fields is subject to the more expensive "general electricity." As a result, many companies have secretly used "industrial electricity" for office buildings and golf courses.
According to a report released by South Korea's largest power generation company, "Korea Electric Power Corporation," from 2004 to August this year, South Korea has seen 24,900 cases of industrial electricity theft.
Samsung and LG were also on the list of companies secretly stealing electricity. The most frequent offender was Samsung Group's six subsidiaries, which were accused of using industrial electricity for the company's R&D and office departments. According to South Korean law, they will be fined twice the difference (between industrial electricity and general electricity).