President Yang Su-yeong of Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and President Cha Sung-soo of Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) hold up a copy of an MOU they signed at KNOC headquarters in Ullsan on June 4. (Photo: KNOC)

Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) signed an MOU on the efficient operation and surveillance of large-sized underground structures such as storage site caverns and radwaste cave-in facilities with Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD).

Among those on hand at the signing ceremony that took place at KNOC headquarters in Ullsan on June 4 were KNOC President Yang Su-yeong and KORAD President Cha Sung-soo.

Both sides have shared specialized materials related to each other’s sites and their operation technologies since 2018. The latest deal agreed to expand the two corporations’ collaboration to safety and environment fields.

Through the technology collaboration regime, the two corporations share ways of securing the safety of large-sized underground structures, efficient surveillance underground water and technologies related to surrounding environment management.

KORAD has operated facilities of treating low- and immediate-level radwaste at 80 meters to 130 meters below the surface since 2015.

KNOC has acquired diverse expertise technologies on the surveillance of underground water changes of the surrounding environment, safe operation of facilities and environment management of related surrounding facilities while operating petroleum storage sites for about 40 years.

“With the establishment of a close cooperation regime, the safety of neighborhood residents of areas which located underground structures are located will be further enhanced,” a KNOC official said.

The organizations will greatly contribute to the safe and efficient operation of underground structures by aggressively making the most of capabilities and resources they possess, the official added.

KORAD President Cha said, “We at KORAD will make our utmost efforts to ensure the safety operation and efficient surveillance of radwaste treatment facilities by cooperating mutually in diverse areas such as surveillance of underground water changes and education.”

KNOC Hosts Session to Unveil Innovative Ideas in Post COVID-19 Era

Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) held a session to put forward innovative ideas for the post-COVID-19 era at KNOC headquarters on June 3.

The session was arranged to reflect KNOC President Yang Su-yeong’s strong will to cope with changes in the energy supply environment and draw up strategies to survive the future and ensure growth. President Yang, other executives and heads of each department participated in the session to put forward their ideas toward future growth.

Participants set forth diverse ideas surpassing their own departments and fields like the creation of new projects in keeping with the government’s master plan on the redevelopment of natural resources, ways of improving the financial structure, the seamless implementation of restructuring and the building of collaboration models on the redevelopment of resources with the private sector.

President Yang said, “All KNOC staff members are required to more aggressively participate in drawing innovative plans in the post-COVID-19 era.” KNOC plans to spearhead efforts to implement the government’s policies to realize a strong resources safety regime to buttress the national economy based on innovative ideas, he added.

In a related development, KNOC inaugurated a joint labor-management task force to draw up post-COVID-19 strategies on May 13.

The corporation plans to deeply deliver the innovative ideas to determine whether they would be included in innovative plans. KNOC plans to establish future strategies to cope with Post-COVID-19 by the end of this month.