Anti-Nuclear Busan Citizens' Coalition Releases Presidential Candidate Responses on Nuclear Phase-Out Issue... Lee "No Extension of Gori Unit 2's Lifespan"

Basic Plan for High-Level Nuclear Waste Management... Lee "Will Listen to and Reflect Local Residents' Opinions"
Yoon Seok-yeol, Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Dong-yeon Did Not Submit Responses

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Anti-Nuclear Busan Citizens' Coalition disclosed on the 21st the responses they received from the 20th presidential candidates regarding anti-nuclear policies related to Busan.

The Citizens' Coalition sent inquiries about the 'Withdrawal of the High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Basic Plan' and the 'Closure of Kori Unit 2' to eight candidates of the 20th presidential election and reported that they received responses from five of them.

The High-Level Radioactive Waste Basic Plan, approved last year, is a plan to store spent nuclear fuel generated by the operation of nuclear power plants on the current nuclear power plant sites until an interim storage facility is established. In regions such as Busan, where the Kori Nuclear Power Plant is located, there is strong opposition, arguing that the nuclear waste burden is effectively being imposed on the local area.

Kori Unit 2, the third oldest power plant in South Korea, is scheduled to reach the end of its design life in April 2023. There is controversy as some political circles are advocating for its life extension.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, stated his position to "terminate Kori Unit 2 without life extension" and said he would "supplement the High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Basic Plan by sufficiently listening to the opinions of local residents." In response, the Citizens' Coalition criticized, "Despite demands from all local residents, local governments, and regional political circles in power plant areas including Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongju, and Honam for the withdrawal of the basic plan, calling it 'listening to local opinions' again is deceiving the citizens living near nuclear power plants."

Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, Oh Jun-ho of the Basic Income Party, Lee Baek-yoon of the Labor Party, and Kim Jae-yeon of the Progressive Party all expressed agreement with both the withdrawal of the High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Basic Plan and the closure of Kori Unit 2. The Citizens' Coalition evaluated them as "candidates who will help build an anti-nuclear society together."

Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, and Kim Dong-yeon of the New Wave Party did not submit responses. The Anti-Nuclear Busan Citizens' Coalition claimed, "(They) chose to avoid the voices of local citizens who will be forced to endure risks and sacrifices caused by nuclear power, while advocating the necessity of nuclear power."

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