Local Government Administrative Council for Nuclear Power Sites Urges Swift Enactment of the 'Special Act on High-Level Radioactive Waste Management'

Uljin County, Gyeongbuk Province (Governor Son Byung-bok) announced that the Administrative Council of Local Governments Hosting Nuclear Power Plants delivered a joint petition to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seong-hwan, People Power Party lawmakers Kim Young-sik and Lee In-seon on the 20th at the National Assembly Communication Hall, urging the prompt enactment of the "Special Act on the Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste."

The Administrative Council of Local Governments Hosting Nuclear Power Plants Delivered a Joint Petition Urging the Prompt Enactment of the Special Act on the Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste.

This urging took place with the attendance of Yoon Tae-yeol, Deputy Governor of Uljin, Kim Seong-hak, Deputy Mayor of Gyeongju, Kim Seok-myeong, Deputy Governor of Ulju, Park Jong-gyu, Deputy Governor of Gijang, and Kim Jeong-seop, Deputy Governor of Yeonggwang.

As the wet storage pools for spent nuclear fuel (high-level radioactive waste) within nuclear power plant sites are reaching saturation, the urgent need for dry storage facilities and permanent disposal facilities has arisen. The "Special Act on the Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste" (originally proposed by lawmaker Kim Seong-hwan on September 15, 2021, by lawmaker Kim Young-sik on August 22, 2022, and by lawmaker Lee In-seon on August 31, 2022) has been under review by the legislative subcommittee. While both ruling and opposition parties agree on the necessity of the act, they have yet to reconcile their differences on key issues.

At the National Assembly Communication Hall, the joint petition was announced, appealing for the swift enactment of the special act and voicing the position of residents living alongside spent nuclear fuel. The petition includes provisions to prevent the permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel within nuclear power plant sites and to establish grounds for support to local governments through the enactment of the Special Act on the Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste.

The Administrative Council of Local Governments Hosting Nuclear Power Plants stated, "We hope that the Special Act on the Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste will be enacted as soon as possible to alleviate the concerns of residents in nuclear power plant areas regarding spent nuclear fuel."

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