Shin-Kori reactor construction gets go-ahead

Kim Ji-hyung, head of a state commission set up to gauge public opinion on nuclear energy, speaks at a press conference at the government complex in Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

59.5% vs 40.5% for resumption of nuclear project

By Jung Min-ho

A state commission has decided to recommend resuming the stalled construction of two nuclear reactors ― a critical decision that may reshape the future of nuclear energy in Korea.

Kim Ji-hyung, head of the commission, announced Friday the majority of a jury comprising 471 members of the public voted to resume the construction of the Shin-Kori 5 and 6 reactors which has been suspended since July.

Of the jury members, 59.5 percent voted for completing the reactors, and 40.5 percent supported the permanent suspension of their construction.

“The members were increasingly convinced the construction should be resumed,” Kim said. “Especially many people in their 20s and 30s changed their views.”

The margin was larger than many expected, well exceeding the survey’s margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

President Moon Jae-in has said his administration will follow the commission’s decision “no matter what.”

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun reaffirmed Friday the government will honor the decision.

“Based on the commission’s recommendation, the government will do its best to implement follow-up measures,” he told reporters.

The government is expected to officially endorse the recommendation at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting and make an announcement.

The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNP) has welcomed the decision.

“Once we receive official documents from the government, we will notify contractors of the decision and get back to work,” a KHNP official said. “Construction will likely resume next month.”

A consortium led by the KHNP has already spent 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) on the project near the southeastern city of Ulsan since last year. The construction is 30 percent complete now.

The reactors are expected to be used until 2082. This means President Moon won’t be able to keep his campaign pledge to scrap the project and phase out all of the country’s nuclear power plants in the next 40 years.

Scaling back nuclear energy

Still, the majority of the jury members agreed the nation should reduce its reliance on nuclear energy gradually. On the question of the maintenance of the nuclear energy policy, 53.2 percent of jury members supported scaling back nuclear power generation, while 9.7 percent called for its expansion; 35.5 percent said they support maintenance of the status quo.

So the commission said it will also advise the government to reduce the nation’s dependency on nuclear energy, which accounts for more than 30 percent of its electricity.

Many environmental groups said they respect the committee’s decision. Yet, in statements, they highlighted the fact that 53.2 percent of commission members supported scaling back nuclear power generation over time.

“Nuclear energy has been increasingly replaced by cleaner, more sustainable energy sources in many countries,” Friends of the Earth Korea said. “The Moon government should keep pushing ahead with its nuclear-free policy.”

Meanwhile, nuclear energy experts and many others in the industry welcomed the news.

“It is a message for the government, which should reconsider its nuclear-free policy,” said Jeong Yong-hoon, a nuclear engineering professor at KAIST.

Lim Chae-young, a senior official of the Korea Nuclear Society, said commission members’ worries were alleviated by accurate information provided in the decision-making process.

Mixed reactions suggest the issue will continue to be the subject of political debate.

The governing Democratic Party of Korea said it will continue to push ahead with its nuclear-free policy in cooperation with Cheong Wa Dae, though it respects the commission’s decision.

Opposition parties criticized Moon for “wasting money,” demanding his apology.

“President Moon should apologize for the social and economic damage his decision caused,” said Jun Hee-kyung, spokeswoman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.

According to the KHNP, the three-month suspension cost about 100 billion won.