Delay in Completion of Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6... "Impact of Serious Accident Punishment Act"

Construction site view of Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6 (archival photo)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The completion of Shin-Kori Nuclear Power Plant Units 5 and 6, being constructed in Ulju-gun, Ulsan City, Gyeongbuk, will be delayed. This is due to the adjustment of the project schedule ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act next year.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced on the 24th that it submitted an application for a change in the construction plan for Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6 to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The completion schedule for Shin-Kori Unit 5 has been extended by one year from March 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024, and Unit 6 has been extended by nine months from June 30, 2024, to March 31, 2025. As of the end of January, the overall progress rate is 64.7%.

Regarding the schedule adjustment, a KHNP official explained, "Due to the enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, the schedule for processes that may affect safety has been made more realistic, and night work with a high possibility of accidents has been avoided to prevent serious accidents. It was also judged that additional construction time is necessary to improve the seismic performance of key facilities in preparation for natural disasters such as earthquakes."

The Shin-Hanul Units 3 and 4 project is effectively moving towards cancellation. However, the construction plan approval period has been extended until December 2023.

After obtaining the power generation project permit for Shin-Hanul Units 3 and 4 (February 27, 2017), KHNP found it difficult to receive construction plan approval within the legal deadline (February 27, 2021) due to the energy transition policy, and thus applied to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on February 8 this year for an extension of the construction plan approval period. If the power generation project permit for Shin-Hanul Units 3 and 4 is canceled, it will be impossible to obtain new power generation project permits for the next two years, and it is necessary to maintain the permit until separate administrative measures, legislation, or related laws for cost compensation are established.

Regarding this, a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official stated, "The extension period is not intended to resume the project but to prevent disadvantages to KHNP as the project operator in case of permit cancellation. It is a temporary maintenance of the project permit until a system for smooth project termination is established."

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