‘Nuclear Decommissioning Platform’ Born in Busan... Korea Atomic Energy Environment Restoration Institute Headquarters Opens

Completion of Phase 1 Construction of Office, Research, and Mock-up Buildings

Becoming a Hub for the Complete Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Industry

The inauguration ceremony of the headquarters of the Korea Nuclear Environment Restoration Institute, which will serve as a comprehensive platform for nuclear power plant decommissioning, will be held at 2:30 PM on the 2nd in Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan.

Busan City announced that the event commemorates the relocation and fresh start of the institute’s personnel from the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power research center in Gyeongju to the newly completed first phase (office building, research building, mock-up building) of the Korea Nuclear Environment Restoration Institute headquarters in Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan.

About 200 people are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony, including the Director of the Citizen Safety Office of Busan City, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Deputy Mayor of Ulsan City, the Mayor of Gijang-gun, the Mayor of Ulju-gun, the President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the President of KEPCO KPS, and the Chairman of the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD).

The Korea Nuclear Environment Restoration Institute was established at the national level to secure competitiveness in the nuclear power plant decommissioning industry and support domestic companies’ entry into overseas markets. It plays a comprehensive platform role in the field of nuclear decommissioning, including establishing a real verification system for decommissioning technology, building waste analysis infrastructure and providing consulting, supporting commercialization of decommissioning technology and conducting R&D, and supporting the industry.

The government is promoting the “Nuclear Decommissioning Competitiveness Enhancement Technology Development Project” jointly by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT to advance domestic decommissioning technology and apply it to nuclear power plant decommissioning. The Korea Nuclear Environment Restoration Institute is carrying out 18 tasks under this project.

Busan City is also cooperating to ensure the safe and economical decommissioning of Kori Unit 1 by supporting two major equipment construction projects of the institute with 12.5 billion KRW over four years (2022?2026).

With the completion of the first phase (office building, research building, mock-up building) construction of the Korea Nuclear Environment Restoration Institute, about 60 researchers are expected to come to Busan by December.

The first phase construction began in October 2022 and was completed in November 2024. Currently, the second phase (demonstration analysis building) construction started in May and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.

Once the second phase construction, where the demonstration analysis building will be located, is completed, it is expected to serve as a hub for the domestic nuclear decommissioning industry to enter the global decommissioning market by advancing domestic decommissioning technology and securing experts through the decommissioning experience of Kori Unit 1.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “With the Korea Nuclear Environment Restoration Institute headquarters established in Busan, I hope it will become a hub for fostering the decommissioning industry that completes the entire nuclear power cycle by supporting commercialization and technological cooperation for local small and medium-sized enterprises through industry-academia-research-government collaboration.”

Korea Institute of Nuclear Environment Restoration.

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