Director General for Nuclear Power Policy Chung Dong-hee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

"The government has decided to secure industrial competitiveness in decommissioning old nuclear power units in a long-term perspective, on the condition that it will be done economically with public safety being the foremost task,” said Director General for Nuclear Power Policy Chung Dong-hee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

The government decided to permanently shut down and decommission Kori Nuclear Power Unit 1, the nation’s first power plant, starting June 2017. The first Kori Reactor began its operation in April 1978 and completed its 30-year lifespan on June 18, 2007. An extension was given for it to run until June 18, 2017. 

Globally, out of 588 nuclear power units in operation, 150 of the facilities have been ordered to permanently halt operations. Related decommission costs are estimated at 440 trillion won, Dir.-Gen. Chung said. 

Last October, MOTIE established and announced a policy plan to nurture the nuclear power decommission industry in cooperation with other related ministries. The plan calls for investing more than 600 billion won in developing 96 decommissioning technologies, fostering related manpower and implementing joint research and other international cooperation projects. 

Korea has not yet secured 17 out of 58 commercialized decommissioning technologies. The nation plans to develop 10 unobtained technologies on its own by 2017 and the remaining seven by 2021. 

Dir.-Gen. Chung said 120 billion won will be set aside by 2021 through nuclear power facility decommissioning allowances and R&D funds. Chung noted that the nation will likely see the technology self-sufficiency ratio, which now stands at 70 percent versus advanced countries, rise to 100 percent by 2021. Korea aims to conclude technology advancement by 2030, he added. 

New Energy Industry Development 

Dir.-Gen. Chung said, “It’s most important to nurture new energy industries to create national new growth engines.” He said nuclear power is economically feasible, and it is an eco-friendly energy source, which emits less greenhouse gas emissions and places a lower public burden on electricity charges, thus contributing to ramping up industrial competitiveness.   

Korea will be obliged to cut 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent from business-as-usual (BAU) levels in the wake of the post-2020 climate change pact, agreed to at the COP21 conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris last December. 

At the same time, the nation will have to build more power generation facilities to meet electricity demand, which is forecast to rise at an annual average rate of 2 percent. In this regard, nuclear power is emerging as an alternative. Nuclear power is emitting less greenhouse gases and economically feasible, compared to coal-fired power plants, and for Korea with scarce natural resources, nuclear power is a realistic alternative option to cope with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

The government, recognizing nuclear power as an alternative, has confirmed the construction of two more nuclear power units, but rescinded the construction of thermal power plants while establishing the 7th power supply and demand master plan. 

In order to ensure nuclear power safety in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, Korea has come up with 56 countermeasures against nuclear accidents that are caused by natural disasters. The steps, which include expansion of coastal embankments and the installation of emergency power and mobile power systems, have cost 1.1 trillion won. The nation will set aside another 1.1 trillion won by 2017 in replacing 313 steam generators and other major facilities as precautions. 

The government has implemented steps to prevent irregularities threatening the safety of nuclear power units since 2013. Last year, the Act on the Supervision of Nuclear Power Plants went into force. The law has laid the legal groundwork for the implementation of government steps to ensure nuclear power safety and punishing nuclear power companies and their cooperative firms for their violations. 

Korea’s Construction of Nuclear Power Units in UAE Going Flawlessly

Korea’s project to build four nuclear power units in Bakara, the United Arab Emirates represents the nation’s first exporting of homegrown nuclear power technology, and it is progressing as planned.

The progress of the Bakara Nuclear Power Unit 1 stood at 60.19 percent as of the end of last year. It successfully underwent a hydrostatic pressure test. 

Globally, Areva EPR reactor projects are delayed in France, Finland and China, and AP1000 reactors designed by Westinghouse are dragging their feet in the United States and China. It is the sole Bakara nuclear power units that are being constructed without interruption.

Dir.-Gen. Chung said the UAE government and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. are content with the progress of the Bakara project, which is getting much attention in other countries. In particular, foreign government officials who have experience in the construction of the Bakara project have praised Korea’s nuclear power industry capacity.