[Yoon Seok-yeol Elected] Nuclear Phase-Out Reversal... Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Construction Resumed

Yoon's Pledge 'Continued Operation of Nuclear Power Plants'... Maintaining Power Generation Share in the 30% Range
As a Driver for Carbon Neutrality... Resumption of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Construction Confirmed
Extension of Operating Period... 10 Nuclear Plants Reaching Design Life Within 8 Years

Yoon Seok-yeol Announces Nuclear Power Pledge at Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Construction Halt Site
(Uljin, Gyeongbuk = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon = On the afternoon of the 29th, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, visited the halted construction site of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 in Uljin County, Gyeongbuk Province, and announced nuclear power pledges including a full review of the nuclear phase-out policy and the immediate resumption of construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4. 2021.12.29
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] With Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party candidate, elected as the 20th president, the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy is set to be scrapped. This is because Yoon's energy policy can be summarized as ‘continued operation of nuclear power plants.’

President-elect Yoon plans to completely abandon the nuclear phase-out policy pursued by the current administration and use nuclear power as a driving force for carbon neutrality. He also intends to raise the share of nuclear power generation, which was between 25-29% during the five years of the Moon administration, to the 30% range. Considering that the current government planned to reduce the share of nuclear power generation to 6-7% by 2050, this marks a dramatic change.

Accordingly, the early resumption of construction for Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4, which is currently on hold, is expected. Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 is a project to build two 1400MW-class Korean New Type Reactors in Uljin, Gyeongbuk. It was confirmed through the 4th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand in 2008, but the current government halted the construction of six new nuclear reactors, including Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4, following the nuclear phase-out declaration in 2017.

President Moon Jae-in delivering a speech at the ceremony announcing the permanent shutdown of Kori Unit 1 in 2017.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

The lifespan of nuclear power plants will also be extended. President-elect Yoon emphasized that the operational period of nuclear plants whose design life (30-40 years) has ended will be extended. Previously, the Moon administration had firmly decided to decommission nuclear plants whose design life had expired as part of its nuclear phase-out policy. Among the 24 active nuclear reactors in Korea, 10, including Kori Unit 2, will reach the end of their design life by 2030. Countries with overseas nuclear power plants extend the design life of about 90% of their aging reactors and continue to operate them.

The government will also actively promote nuclear power exports. Korea's overseas nuclear projects have been dormant since winning the Barakah nuclear power plant contract in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008. Due to the nuclear phase-out trend, nuclear technology development has been virtually ‘all stopped’ over the past five years. In response, President-elect Yoon plans to establish a pan-government nuclear export support group to unify the export system. To strengthen the Korea-US nuclear cooperation framework, the Korea-US High-Level Bilateral Commission on Nuclear Energy (HLBC) will also be revitalized. He has set an ambitious goal of exporting 10 nuclear reactors by 2030 and creating 100,000 high-quality jobs.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is walking to pay respects at the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

However, some analysts suggest that it will be difficult to strongly push a nuclear power drive in the early stages of the administration due to the opposition-controlled National Assembly. Professor Jeong Dong-wook of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Energy Systems Engineering said, "The opposition party may try to limit the government's nuclear policy through legislation related to spent nuclear fuel," but added, "I believe that the expansion policy of nuclear power can be sufficiently carried out focusing on the executive branch authorities such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, which decides major nuclear-related policies, is appointed by the president. The current chairman, Yoo Guk-hee, who took office in December last year, will serve until 2024. However, among the six previous chairpersons, only former chairman Lee Eun-cheol completed a full three-year term.

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