Review Committee: "No Issues with Public Discussion on Wolseong MACSTOR Expansion"

Hanhyewon and Partners Deny Allegations of Involvement, Claim "Not True"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Kim Soyoung, Chairperson of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Reexamination Committee, stated that there were no issues in the process of gathering residents' opinions for the expansion of the temporary spent nuclear fuel storage facility (MACSTOR) at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju.

On the afternoon of the 26th, during the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant regional opinion gathering results briefing on YouTube KTV, Chairperson Kim said, "We have been conducting activities for the Reexamination Committee over the past year, and if there were any opacity or distortion of facts during the process, it would have been revealed during the verification process by the Verification Committee."

The Reexamination Committee began preparations for gathering opinions regarding the expansion of the MACSTOR at Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in April. From a randomly recruited pool of 3,000 Gyeongju residents, a citizen participation group of 145 was selected, reflecting demographic characteristics such as age and gender from those willing to participate.

The citizen participation group completed the public deliberation process through a three-week period of deliberative learning and a comprehensive discussion meeting, starting with an orientation on the 27th of last month. The final survey on the MACSTOR expansion showed 81.4% (118 people) in favor, 11.0% (16 people) opposed, and 7.6% (11 people) undecided.

Subsequently, the government decided on the 20th to proceed with the expansion of the Wolseong MACSTOR. Since saturation is expected by March 2022, considering the 19-month construction period, construction must begin within this month to prevent the shutdown of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant.

A scene from the public opinion gathering result briefing session in the Wolseong nuclear power plant area. (Photo by Spent Nuclear Fuel Reexamination Committee)

There were allegations that during the recruitment of the citizen participation group, employees related to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) were intentionally included while opponents were excluded.

On the 25th, Ryu Hojung, a member of the Justice Party, held a press conference and revealed a list, stating, "Among the 145 members of the citizen participation group, 21 were stakeholders such as employees of KHNP partner companies or suppliers."

Lee Yunseok, spokesperson for the Reexamination Committee, explained, "When forming the initial pool of 3,000 people, all related persons including KHNP employees and their families were excluded. If any were included in the citizen participation group, they would have naturally been exposed to other citizens during knowledge-sharing discussions."

He added, "There was no contact with KHNP during the survey process, and surveys were not conducted for unidentified groups or individuals who approached during the investigation."

There were also criticisms that opinions from residents of Ulsan, living near the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, were excluded.

Chairperson Kim stated, "Before the Reexamination Committee was launched, the Reexamination Preparation Team reviewed various options and decided to target residents of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant area. Last spring, we sent cooperation letters to Ulsan civic groups to discuss, but they boycotted the entire process we were conducting, so it did not materialize."

He added, "Of course, since Ulsan citizens are stakeholders, we believe it is necessary to gather their opinions in some form, and discussions are ongoing regarding this."

Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant MACSTOR. (Photo by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power)

The Reexamination Committee repeatedly emphasized that the public deliberation was neither distorted nor unfair.

Chairperson Kim said, "While the public deliberation process we conducted is not perfect, the analysis was accurate, and there was no distortion or unfairness. We acted with academic conscience."

He continued, "After the results briefing, we will answer as many questions as possible through the website, but rather than pointing out unverified facts or emotional expressions, please provide accurate critiques."

After the results briefing, the Reexamination Committee disclosed materials related to the public deliberation process, including the citizen participation group survey, on its website.

KHNP plans to construct an additional seven MACSTOR units on the site of the existing seven units at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju. The goal is to complete construction before March 2022.

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