After Calling for Nuclear Phase-Out... No Progress on Nuclear Plant Decommissioning for 5 Years

Government Begins Final Review of Gori Unit 1 Decommissioning Plan This Month
Decommissioning Work Expected to Start Around 2024 at Earliest
Completion Date Delayed to 2037, 5 Years Later Than Government Plan
Schedule May Face Further Delays Due to Radioactive Waste Disposal Site Issues

Exterior view of Korea's first commercial nuclear power plant, 'Gori Unit 1'.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The approval for the dismantling of Kori Unit 1 has been delayed for nearly two years, causing the government's planned nuclear power plant dismantling project to face difficulties from the start. Initially, the government planned to give final approval for the dismantling of Kori Unit 1 in the first half of this year and then begin the work, but actual dismantling is expected to start no earlier than 2024.

According to related ministries on the 16th, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) will begin expert review of the final dismantling plan for Kori Unit 1 within this month. The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), which is responsible for the expert review, estimates that the review will take about 24 months. Once the dismantling plan passes the expert review, the NSSC plans to submit it as an agenda item for a meeting to consider final approval. If this schedule is followed, dismantling work on Kori Unit 1 can begin at the earliest around 2024.

The government originally intended to give final approval for the dismantling of Kori Unit 1 in June this year, start work in the second half of the year, and complete dismantling by 2032, ten years later. However, even if dismantling begins immediately after the expert review ends in 2024, completion will only be possible by 2037. This is because the procedures required for dismantling have been sluggish, and the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has extended the expected dismantling period for Kori Unit 1 from 10 years and 6 months to 13 years, an increase of 2 years and 6 months.

The delay in dismantling work is due to multiple factors. Originally, KHNP planned to submit the final dismantling plan for Kori Unit 1 to the NSSC in June 2019 after holding public hearings with residents. However, nine local governments near Kori Unit 1 conflicted over the selection of the local government to host the public hearings, causing the schedule to be postponed. Additionally, the development of core technologies necessary for the fundamental dismantling was delayed, leading KHNP to revise and supplement the dismantling plan in December last year, and KINS recently completed the document conformity review.

Meanwhile, the budget for dismantling Kori Unit 1 has steadily increased. Even after a nuclear power plant stops generating electricity, costs increase as the dismantling period lengthens due to spent nuclear fuel management and other factors. In fact, KHNP's initial estimate of the dismantling cost for Kori Unit 1 in 2012 was 603.3 billion KRW, which rose to 643.7 billion KRW in 2014, 751.5 billion KRW in 2016, and was finally set at 812.9 billion KRW in the final dismantling plan.

The problem is that the schedule could be further delayed even after dismantling begins. There is currently no suitable radioactive waste disposal facility to store the spent nuclear fuel from Kori Unit 1. South Korea does not have a separate disposal site and stores spent nuclear fuel in temporary storage facilities. This is why the government established a high-level radioactive waste management roadmap at the end of last year. However, the government estimates that it will take 37 years from the start of site selection procedures to the construction of a permanent disposal facility.

Given this situation, concerns are emerging that the fundamental dismantling industry may fall behind. The government’s plan was to use Kori Unit 1 as a starting point to actively foster the dismantling industry and increase the global market share of nuclear power plant dismantling to 10% by 2035. Accordingly, KHNP accelerated technology development by securing 58 commercial technologies necessary for nuclear power plant dismantling by last year, but it still has no experience in commercial nuclear power plant dismantling.