South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that Korea is committing KRW400 billion ($308m) a year to the development of small nuclear reactors as it doubles its overall annual spending on nuclear energy to KRW2,000 billion. “The government will actively support the nuclear energy industry so it can become a major pillar leading our exports and so that Korea can once again be recognized globally as a major nuclear energy power country,”.
His comments were read by Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy Lee Chang-yang at a ceremony celebrating the commercial operation of unit 1 of the Shin-Hanul NPP, which had begun on 7 December. The president was unable to attend the ceremony, held at the plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang because of extreme cold weather.
“The operation of Shin-Hanul 1 is not the end but a new beginning,” Yoon said, noting that the nuclear power sector in Korea could have been pushed beyond the point of recovery if the “reckless” nuclear energy policies of former President Moon Jae-in had continued.
“The government since inauguration has abolished the nuclear energy phase out policy pushed excessively by the previous administration in order to establish a reasonable energy policy and normalize nuclear energy policies,” Yoon’s statement said. “We now plan to further accelerate the restoration of the nuclear energy ecosystem.”
He added that the construction of the two additional nuclear power plants in Uljin – Shin-Hanul 3 and 4 – will start next month. Shin-Hanul 2 is near completion and expected to go online by September 2023. “Nuclear energy will be actively utilised in strengthening energy security and achieving carbon neutrality.” Yoon said.
The APR1400 at Shin-Hanul 1, Korea’s 27th reactor, was under construction for 12 years. It was initially scheduled to start commercial operation in 2017 but was delayed after the Moon government applied stricter safety regulations following an earthquake in Gyeongju in 2016. Construction was completed in 2020, 10 years after the project began, and was approved for operations by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission in July of last year. Shin Hanul 1 is the first nuclear unit in Korea in which all key components are localised. Its commercial operation is expected to contribute to stabilising energy supply during this winter this year.
Earlier, on 11 December, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) confirmed that unit 4 at the Hanbit NPP had resumed power generation following an outage that began in May 2017. Hanbit 4 was taken offline for a "planned preventive maintenance" outage but remained closed after the discovery of "voids" in its containment building. The voids were repaired during the outage, which also included maintenance of "major devices and facilities" including replacement of steam generators, KHNP said. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission gave permission for the plant to restart on 9 December following a detailed inspection.
Image: Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy, Lee Chang-yang, tours the Shin-Hanul 1 nuclear power plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang (courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy)
