By Kim Se-jeong
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced Friday that the nation’s first nuclear power plant, Kori, built in 1978, will be shut down permanently June 18.
The commission said it will decommission the Kori reactor No. 1 and release the land for public use, but it is expected to take at least 15 years for the site to be cleared.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the reactor operator, will have to submit a decommissioning plan, which according to media outlets could take up to five years.
It will be the first decommissioning project to be undertaken in Korea ― previous experience has been limited to laboratories. According to the World Nuclear Association, 150 nuclear reactors worldwide have been decommissioned as of May.
The decommissioning process will start with decontaminating the facility, which is aimed at reducing residual radioactivity. This is followed by dismantling the structure and removing contaminated materials for safe disposal, a process expected to take at least five years. Used nuclear fuel will have to be stored until it can be removed for disposal. The last stage of the work will be the site cleanup. The KHNP projected the entire process will take 15 years but some experts said it could take longer because of land contamination.
The process is expected to cost 1 trillion won, which will be borne by the operator, but the amount will increase if the process takes longer.
Finding a disposal facility for the used nuclear fuel is a big issue. Korea currently has no facilities, and building one will be tough because of protests from local residents.
The Kori No. 1 reactor started operating on April 29, 1978. The facility was designed to be retired after 30 years, but the operation license was renewed in 2007 for another 10 years.
Last weekend’s decision came under the new Moon Jae-in administration which pledged to reduce reliance on nuclear power. More such decisions are expected to follow. The Wolsong No. 1 reactor was supposed to be retired in 2013 but is still operating. Currently, Korea has 23 nuclear power reactors, generating almost 30 percent of its electricity.