Sung Yoon-mo: "Early Shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1 Considers Safety, Environment, and Acceptability Beyond Economic Feasibility" (Comprehensive)

Audit Board's Audit Announcement Imminent... Minister Seong Maintains Previous Position

Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, attending the National Assembly on the 23rd and responding to questions related to the economy during the government questioning session. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As the Board of Audit and Inspection is expected to announce the audit results of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 as early as next month, Minister Sung Yun-mo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reiterated the existing position that the early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1 was a decision made by considering not only economic feasibility but also safety, environmental impact, and local community acceptance.

Minister Sung made these remarks while explaining the current status and vision of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy during the Ministry’s briefing to the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee (Sanjoongwi) held at 10 a.m. on the 28th.

In response to a question from Kim Kyung-man, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding the audit of Wolseong Unit 1, Minister Sung said, "The early shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1 was a judgment made by comprehensively considering economic feasibility, safety, environmental impact, and acceptability."

Earlier, on the 26th, former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu revealed that "(Choi Jae-hyung) the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection said, 'Can the government’s national agenda, which only received 41% support in the presidential election, be said to have gained public consensus?'" This disclosure has drawn attention to the Board of Audit and Inspection’s decision.

There were also numerous questions about the fact that 81.4% of the citizen participation group supported the expansion of the temporary storage facility (MACSTOR) for spent nuclear fuel at Wolseong Units 2, 3, and 4, as well as about the public deliberation process.

Ryu Ho-jeong, a member of the Justice Party, pointed out that according to a Hangil Research opinion poll conducted from the 6th to the 8th of last month, 55% of 891 local residents opposed the expansion, while in the first survey before the three-week deliberative learning by the Re-examination Committee, only 1 out of 39 opposed. She expressed skepticism about the Re-examination Committee’s explanation that opponents changed their stance to support thanks to the deliberative learning.

In response, Minister Sung said, "To validate that claim, it is necessary to check how the sample surveys by Hangil Research and the Re-examination Committee differ and then compare them." He added, "Fairness was ensured through random sampling statistical methods by a professional institution called the Korea Management Association, and stakeholders also participated in the public deliberation process."

He also acknowledged that reshoring policies are not easy to achieve results. Gu Ja-geun, a member of the United Future Party, pointed out, "Only about 10 companies on average return to the country, most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises, while about 4,000 companies left between 2017 and 2018."

Minister Sung said, "The policy for returning companies is a very difficult and comprehensive policy," adding, "If supplemented through the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s economic policy direction for the second half of the year and the Materials, Parts, and Equipment 2.0 strategy, we will be able to achieve results related to returning companies."

Regarding questions about whether the 'Green New Deal' blueprint, which announced an investment of 73 trillion won to create 660,000 jobs, is realistic and why there are differences with the Ministry of Environment over the 9th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand, he gave a fundamental response that "discussions are still ongoing."

Minister Sung stated, "The 9th plan is currently under consultation with the Ministry of Environment through an environmental impact assessment of power supply."

When Kwon Myung-ho, a member of the United Future Party, asked whether he agrees that nuclear power is an eco-friendly energy source, noting that opinions within the government diverge on 'green' and 'carbon neutrality' because nuclear power was excluded, Minister Sung replied, "It has low carbon dioxide reduction."

He continued, "Among the world’s top 10 solar companies, nine are Chinese, but domestically, at least because of the energy transition policy, domestic companies hold 78% of the solar module market, and I believe companies are competitively carrying out their businesses. Just as we achieved technological independence in coal and nuclear power in the past, we are also striving to do the same with gas turbines," he said.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.