Deputy Minister Park Won-ju of the Office of Energy and Resources at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy delivers a speech at a ceremony to mark the 7th anniversary of Nuclear Power Safety and Promotion Day at the Seoul Westin Joseon Hotel on Dec. 27.

A ceremony to mark the 7th anniversary of Nuclear Power Safety and Promotion Day was a low profile event in the wake of a new government policy to wean the nation off of nuclear power.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) jointly hosted the anniversary event at the Seoul Westin Joseon Hotel on Dec. 27. 

Nuclear Power Safety and Promotion Day falls on Dec. 27, when the importance of nuclear power is celebrated. The goal has been to promote the industry since it won a nuclear power project in the United Arab Emirates some years ago.

In a commemorative speech, MOTIE Vice Minister Lee In-ho praised the nuclear power industry’s contribution to the promotion of the national economy and people, and stressed the need to cope with an energy paradigm shift. Considering people’s high concern over nuclear power, which has played out in a public debate on the Shin Kori Nuclear Power Units 5 & 6, he called for a review of nuclear power and positive communications. 

Lee emphasized that the Korean nuclear power industry has enough time to cope with an energy paradigm shift, which he said will play out over the next 60 years. He also urged the government and private sector to make joint efforts to maintain the Korean ecosystem of nuclear power, promote safety-related technology development and investment, secure decommissioning technologies, treat spent nuclear fuel and export nuclear power technologies. 

The government will take into account profitability and risks when the nation exports nuclear power technologies and enters foreign markets in the UK, the Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia, while sparing no effort to provide policy support, he said.

During the event, 88 people were presented with the MOTIE and MSIT’s minister’s prizes in recognition of their contributions to the development of the nuclear power industry. 

Dignitaries, including Vice Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jin-kyu and MOTIE Deputy Miniser Park  Won-ju  in charge of energy and resources, pose for a group photo session at the Seoul Westin Joseon Hotel on Dec. 27. (Photos: MOTIE)

A general view of the event to mark the 7th anniversary of Nuclear Power Safety and Promotion Day.