'2nd Mid-Low Level Radioactive Waste Plan' Briefing... "High-Level Plan to Be Established by End of Next Year"

Selected 3 Major Areas Including Infrastructure Expansion with 500 Billion Won Investment Over 5 Years

On October 29th, Korea Radioactive Waste Agency took over 60 drums of radioactive waste from KEPCO Nuclear Fuel. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 3rd that it will hold an online briefing session on the "2nd Basic Plan for the Management of Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste (Draft)" starting at 3 p.m. on the 4th. The briefing session will be hosted by the Korea Energy Economics Institute, a national research institute.

The 2nd plan is a statutory plan established every five years with a planning period of 30 years in accordance with the Radioactive Waste Management Act.

According to the law, the plan must include ▲basic policies for the management of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, current status of waste generation, facility and investment plans, public understanding promotion, and technology development.

This draft plan reflects policy conditions such as ▲the projected increase in radioactive waste from nuclear power plant decommissioning due to the full-scale energy transition policy ▲the full operation of the radioactive waste disposal facility in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk ▲and heightened safety management demands.

It selects 11 key tasks in three major areas: seamless expansion of necessary infrastructure, smart innovation in waste management, and zero-accident achievement with strengthened public participation, investing 500 billion KRW over five years.

The goal is to "establish a safe radioactive waste management system where the state takes responsibility and the public participates together."

Park Wooyoung, team leader at the Korea Energy Economics Institute, said, "We hope this online briefing session will be an opportunity to further substantiate the contents of the 2nd plan."

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to announce the 2nd plan within this year after reflecting opinions from the briefing session, conducting inter-ministerial consultations, and submitting it for deliberation and resolution at the Nuclear Promotion Committee. In accordance with Article 6, Paragraph 4 of the Radioactive Waste Management Act, it will also be submitted to the National Assembly.

The high-level radioactive waste plan will begin to be formulated as soon as the Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Policy Review Committee completes its activities, with the aim of completion by the end of next year.

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