Korean Nuclear Safety Regulations to Be Reviewed by the International Atomic Energy Agency

Starting from the 11th, a 2-week IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission begins... 13 years since the first inspection

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) announced on the 10th that the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), conducted under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will take place for two weeks starting from the 11th at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon.

Yonhap News

IRRS is a service that comprehensively reviews and provides recommendations on nuclear safety regulatory systems, institutions, and activities of IAEA member states according to IAEA safety standards.

It reviews whether the regulatory systems of member states align well with internationally discussed standards and recommends areas for improvement. The IAEA recommends that member states undergo IRRS every ten years. Since its inception in 2006, over 70 countries have undergone the review.

This is the second time Korea is receiving the IRRS, following the first in 2011. At that time, since it was the launch period of the NSSC, this is the first time the NSSC is directly leading the review.

The NSSC applied for the IRRS in 2021 and formed a preparation team of about 100 people led by Im Seung-cheol, Secretary-General of the NSSC, in January this year. The team submitted a 486-page preparation report containing self-assessment responses in 21 areas to the IAEA in September.

The IRRS inspection team this time is led by Laura Dues, Regional Administrator of Region II of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and includes 21 nuclear safety experts from 14 countries worldwide, including the IAEA.

The inspection team will review documents and conduct interviews with officials regarding Korea’s nuclear safety regulatory system, and visit sites such as nuclear power plants, research reactors, radioactive waste disposal facilities, and radiation utilization facilities to derive review results. The final review report will be communicated by February next year.

The NSSC plans to establish an implementation plan for the improvements suggested by this IRRS and will also consider whether to undergo a follow-up review, which can be conducted 2 to 4 years later.

Previously, the NSSC received a follow-up IRRS in 2014 after the 2011 review, which resulted in three best practice cases, nine recommendations, and nine improvements.

The NSSC has prepared implementation plans for all recommendations and improvements except for one recommendation that nuclear operators should not be allowed to substitute fines for suspension of operations when violating safety standards.

IRRS also provides time to offer advice on policy issues, and the NSSC expects to receive advice on the development of regulations for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and on continued operation.

An NSSC official stated, "The official agenda for the IRRS policy issue discussion includes two items: the current status and future of Korea’s regulatory agency and preparation for SMR regulation," adding, "Continued operation is not an official agenda item, so there may be opportunities to seek advice on it during the overall regulatory discussions."

Yoo Guk-hee, Chairperson of the NSSC, said, "This IRRS is an opportunity for the NSSC to have its efforts to improve the regulatory system internationally evaluated," and added, "We will reflect the IRRS review results in safety regulatory policies to further solidify Korea’s safety regulatory system and use this as a chance to raise the level of nuclear safety to the next stage."

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