DAEJEON -- A local court on Friday issued arrest warrants for government officials accused of deleting documents related to the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor.

The Daejeon Central District Court granted the warrants against two officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, whose names were withheld, on charges of disturbing the state auditors' examination. 

However, the court rejected a request to issue an arrest warrant for another ministry official in connection with the case. 

They allegedly destroyed 444 files about the government's decision to terminate the operation of Wolsong-1, the country's second-oldest nuclear reactor, right before the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) ordered the submission of the documents late last year.

Among the deleted data, officials were able to recover only 324 files.

The closure of Wolsong-1 has remained a hot-button topic in domestic politics since President Moon Jae-in decided in 2017 to decommission the reactor earlier than scheduled in line with his energy policy.

The BAI earlier concluded that the shutdown decision was based on biased research, which undervalued the reactor's economic viability. (Yonhap)