In June 2024, two months after the ruling People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the general elections.

Then-President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise personal announcement that there was a possibility of up to 14 billion barrels of oil and gas being deposited off the coast of Yeongilman in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / Former President (June 3, 2024): Results show a very high possibility that up to 14 billion barrels of oil and gas are deposited...]br />
An audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection under the current administration revealed that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had advised at the time to refrain from such publicity, stating that the success rate was less than 20% and that additional verification and drilling were necessary.

However, the presidential office at the time pushed forward with the public announcement, and investigations also showed that the ministry proposed an alternative to explain it as "50 times the existing East Sea gas field" instead of the figure of 14 billion barrels.

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated that the figure of 14 billion barrels is an estimate that could only be expected after successful drilling in all seven areas where oil and gas are likely to be found.

It added that the probability of all seven drilling operations succeeding was a mere 0.000218%.

[Kim Jong-dong / Director, Division 3, Public Institution Audit Bureau, Board of Audit and Inspection: Even if all drilling operations (in the seven areas) were to succeed, it is a simple addition of the most optimistic figures (for the seven areas), making its feasibility extremely low.]

The audit also revealed that former President Yoon Suk Yeol had ordered the drilling schedule to be moved up to align with his term in office.

Upon receiving a report that drilling in five out of the seven locations would be completed after his term ended, former President Yoon reprimanded then-Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun and ordered that they be completed within his term.

Investigations showed that despite opposition from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea National Oil Corporation, and former Minister Ahn's remark that "political judgment is necessary regarding the drilling schedule," former President Yoon dismissed it by saying, "I am the one who makes the political judgment."

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated that because there were no relevant regulations, it did not demand separate disciplinary measures regarding the announcement at the time and the order to shorten the drilling schedule.

"14 Billion Barrels, 0.0002% Probability"... The Reality of Yoon's "Daewangwhale" Project (September 16, 2026, 8 News)

(Reported by Choi Jae-young | Producer: Choi Yoon-seo | Videographer: Lee Sang-hak | Video Editing: Park Choon-bae | Design: Taeyoung Park | Produced by SBS Digital News)