The Final Puzzle of 'Nuclear Phase-Out Reversal'... Transition Committee Faces 'Dilemma' Over Nuclear Safety Commission

Transitioning to a Standing Committee System Considered as the Transition Team Deliberates Nuclear Safety Commission Reform
Amendment of Nuclear Safety Commission Act Essential... Difficult to Reform Without Democratic Party Consent
4 out of 7 Commissioners Are Anti-Nuclear Figures... Yoon's Policy May Face Delays

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is visiting SK Bioscience in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the morning of the 25th, touring the laboratory. [Photo by Office of the President-elect Spokesperson]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Presidential Transition Committee has found itself in a dilemma over the reorganization of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), a campaign promise of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol. Revising the NSSC requires amending related laws, but opposition from the Democratic Party of Korea is inevitable. However, if the NSSC remains under the current system, the 'nuclear phase-out reversal' promised by President-elect Yoon could face difficulties from the start.

According to related ministries on the 27th, the Transition Committee is reviewing the reorganization of the NSSC. The NSSC is the body that gives the final approval for licensing procedures related to domestic nuclear power plants. Previously, President-elect Yoon pledged to secure the independence and expertise of the NSSC, judging that the NSSC had been mired in the nuclear phase-out policy during the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration. In fact, four out of the seven current NSSC commissioners are proponents of nuclear phase-out.

The reorganization plan that the Transition Committee has focused on is the transition to a full-time commissioner system. Currently, the NSSC operates under a part-time commissioner system, where the chairman and the secretary-general are full-time, but the seven other commissioners hold concurrent positions. This means that seven out of the nine core members of the NSSC treat their commission activities as a side job. This has been a consistent criticism due to the lack of expertise among commissioners, considering the NSSC’s role in deliberating and deciding on matters that can affect national energy supply plans, such as the continued operation of nuclear power plants.

Another problem is that the part-time commissioner system makes it difficult to conduct discussions on major agenda items promptly. The full NSSC meetings are held about once every 2 to 4 weeks due to scheduling conflicts among part-time commissioners. If the chairman delays the approval of an agenda, the review process can be postponed by at least two weeks. One NSSC commissioner said, "The current operation method of the NSSC is inefficient," adding, "Meetings are held at most once every two weeks, so agenda processing inevitably gets delayed."

However, the Transition Committee has yet to reach a clear conclusion. To reorganize the NSSC, the 'Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission' must be amended, but obtaining consent from the Democratic Party is not easy. If the NSSC Act is amended, the terms of the current chairman and commissioners will automatically end. Subsequently, among the next chairman and seven new commissioners, three will be appointed by President-elect Yoon. From the Democratic Party’s perspective, the Transition Committee’s reorganization of the NSSC, which reverses the current government’s nuclear policy 180 degrees, is unlikely to be welcomed.

Yoo Guk-hee, Chairperson of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, is speaking at the 156th meeting of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission held on the 22nd. [Photo by Nuclear Safety and Security Commission]

The problem is that the longer the NSSC reorganization is delayed, the harder it will be for the next government’s plan to reverse the nuclear phase-out to gain momentum. Five out of the seven commissioners and the chairman who oversee the NSSC’s decision-making were appointed under the current government’s policy. In this situation, it is unlikely that the new government’s nuclear policy, which directly contradicts the phase-out policy, will be smoothly approved.

A Transition Committee official said, "Looking at advanced nuclear countries, the role of the NSSC is very important," adding, "If we proceed with reorganizing the NSSC, it will be with the intention of enhancing nuclear safety."

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