Review Committee Recommends Establishing a Special Act and Independent Administrative Committee for Spent Nuclear Fuel Management

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[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Policy Review Committee recommended the government enact a "Special Act on Spent Nuclear Fuel Management (tentative name)" that includes the need for legislation on everything from concept definitions to site selection procedures and support for hosting regions. The committee also called for the establishment of an "independent administrative committee" to comprehensively oversee the entire policy.

On the 18th, the Review Committee announced a government recommendation covering the overall spent nuclear fuel policy, including these contents.

This recommendation summarizes the results of the review activities conducted since May 2019 to reconsider the spent nuclear fuel policy through public discussion, a national agenda under the Moon Jae-in administration. It encompasses nationwide and regional opinion gathering results, expert reviews, and legal advisory results from four institutions.

First, the Review Committee recommended enacting the "Special Act on Spent Nuclear Fuel Management" to resolve the national challenge of spent nuclear fuel that has been unresolved for 43 years. To ensure systematic implementation of the recommendation, the committee advised legislating various matters such as concept definitions, site selection procedures, and support for hosting regions. Regarding temporary storage facilities, which have faced significant social conflicts due to insufficient definitions and construction procedures, the committee recommended legal and institutional improvements and the establishment of reasonable regional support measures.

Along with this, the committee ordered the establishment of an independent administrative committee to decisively decide and implement these management policies and to comprehensively oversee the entire policy. This is because the spent nuclear fuel policy involves complex and multi-layered interests, making the current policy system limited, and the majority of the public recognizes the need for consistent discussions from a long-term perspective.

Additionally, the Review Committee proposed introducing advanced principles such as reversibility in decision-making?allowing decisions at each stage of the disposal project to be reverted to previous stages of disposal facility development?and retrievability, considering mid- to long-term technological advancements and future generations, in addition to existing management principles.

Regarding management facilities, the committee recommended prioritizing "securing both interim storage facilities and permanent disposal facilities on the same site" according to the majority public opinion, while also considering other opinions such as securing separate interim storage facilities.

Kim So-young, Chairperson of the Review Committee, said, "Since a significant portion of the recommendation involves legislative and policy matters, we urge the government and the National Assembly to work together actively on establishing basic plans and enacting the special law. Furthermore, we hope that stakeholders including the public, civil society, industry, academia, and the media will take great interest and provide support."

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