Assemblyman Yongbin Lee: "A New Baseline for K-Nuclear Power Safety Must Be Established"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Rep. Lee Yong-bin (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Gwangsan-gu Gap) pointed out the expert-centrism, efficiency prioritization, and lack of communication with residents by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) during the NSSC’s national audit on the 23rd, stating that a new baseline for K-Nuclear Power safety must be established.

Since the Fukushima accident, public awareness of nuclear power safety has increased, and recently, concerns have been growing due to the shutdown of six nuclear reactors caused by typhoon impacts, defects such as voids in all nuclear reactors, and Japan’s decision to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima.

Furthermore, the ongoing controversies over deficiencies in Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4, which were the signal fires for the Korean standard nuclear power plant, have affected the safety credibility of domestic nuclear plants such as Hanbit Units 5 and 6, Shin-Kori, Hanul, and Wolseong.

Although the professional capabilities of the nuclear power civil society have improved and demands for participation from local governments and residents in nuclear policy decision-making processes have increased, Rep. Lee explained that regulatory agencies and KHNP have failed to accept these changes.

Rep. Lee stated, “Since the military government era, nuclear power policies have prioritized cost efficiency and production volume, pushing the most important matters?citizens’ lives and safety?to the background. Although anxiety has intensified following the Fukushima accident, the backward responses of the NSSC and KHNP have rather caused social conflicts and raised walls of mutual distrust.”

He also emphasized, “The NSSC and KHNP unilaterally decided on the recent expansion of the MACSTOR facility. Due to a series of incidents and accidents such as the leakage of the pressurizer pressure relief valve at Shin-Kori Units 3 and 4, falsification of control cable test certificates, and the manual shutdown incident of Hanbit Unit 1 reactor, criticism is growing that the current safety management system and policy decision-making methods must be improved.”

He added, “To increase public trust in K-Nuclear Power safety, the NSSC and KHNP should refer to the ‘transparency,’ ‘open communication,’ and ‘public-private cooperation’ of K-quarantine and establish a new baseline for nuclear safety. They must actively introduce resident-participatory policy decision processes, strengthen safety regulatory standards to meet public expectations, and comprehensively innovate the domestic nuclear safety management system.”