Yoon Calls for "Abandoning Nuclear Phase-Out"... Will He Tackle the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Amid 'Independence Controversy'?

The Final Decision-Making Body for Nuclear Policy... 'Nuclear Phase-Out Reversal' Also Depends on the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
Current Chairperson's Term Until 2024... Only One Previous Chairperson Completed Full Term
President Appoints 5 of 9 Key Members of the Commission... 'Independence Controversy' Over the Past 5 Years
Possible Relocation of the Commission to Provinces... "May Be Considered by the Next Government"

Yoon Seok-yeol Announces Nuclear Power Pledge at Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Construction Halt Site
(Uljin, Gyeongbuk = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon = On the afternoon of the 29th, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, visited the halted construction site of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 in Uljin County, Gyeongbuk, and announced nuclear power pledges including a full review of the nuclear phase-out policy and the immediate resumption of construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4. 2021.12.29
uwg806@yna.co.kr
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] With the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration this May, significant changes are expected within the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC). Since President-elect Yoon emphasized his intention to nullify the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy, it is highly likely that the NSSC, which decides key nuclear power policies, will undergo adjustments.

According to the NSSC on the 12th, the term of Chairman Yoo Guk-hee, who took office at the end of last year, lasts until December 2024. The NSSC chairman is a political appointee appointed by the president with a basic term of three years. However, among the six previous NSSC chairmen, only former Chairman Lee Eun-cheol completed the full three-year term.

This is why attention is focused on the NSSC chairman position about two months before the new government takes office. The NSSC is the body that makes the final decisions on nuclear power-related policies, including nuclear power plant operation permits. Whether to proceed with the ‘continued operation of nuclear power plants’ policy, which President-elect Yoon pledged during his campaign, is effectively decided by the NSSC.

From President-elect Yoon’s perspective, the NSSC under Chairman Yoo, appointed by the Moon administration, is inevitably a burden. Moreover, President Moon appointed most of the key personnel within the NSSC besides the chairman. According to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the president has the authority to appoint the NSSC chairman, the NSSC secretariat chief, and three of the seven non-standing commissioners. More than half of the NSSC’s core personnel, who hold the final decision-making power on national nuclear policy, remain influenced by the current administration’s pro-nuclear phase-out stance.

There is also sufficient justification. Controversies regarding the NSSC’s independence and expertise have been ongoing. It has been consistently pointed out that the current NSSC was entrenched in the nuclear phase-out stance and failed to maintain independence. The NSSC-affiliated Nuclear Safety Foundation stirred controversy last month by appointing Kim Je-nam, a prominent anti-nuclear figure and former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Society, as its new chairman. The appointment of the Nuclear Safety Foundation chairman requires final approval from the NSSC.

The Nuclear Safety Foundation under the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission appointed Kim Je-nam, a prominent anti-nuclear power figure and former Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Blue House, as the new chairman last month. The photo shows Kim Je-nam, the 3rd chairman of the Nuclear Safety Foundation.
[Image source=Yonhap News] Photo by Yonhap News

President-elect Yoon’s camp also shares the consensus that the NSSC needs reform. Earlier, Professor Joo Han-kyu of Seoul National University’s Department of Nuclear Engineering told Asia Economy, “The NSSC has had issues with independence over the past five years,” pointing out, “A representative case is the appointment of Kim Je-nam as the new chairman of the Nuclear Safety Foundation.” Professor Joo is one of the leading nuclear power experts in Korea and led the design of nuclear and energy policies in President-elect Yoon’s campaign. Since President-elect Yoon sought his advice shortly after announcing his presidential candidacy in July last year, Professor Joo has been regarded as Yoon’s ‘nuclear strategist.’

The possibility of relocating the NSSC to a provincial area has also been raised. President-elect Yoon’s camp believes that, given the nature of the NSSC’s work, there is no need to keep its office in Seoul. The NSSC office is currently located in the Lotte Insurance Building in Jung-gu, Seoul. Meanwhile, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s headquarters is in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) headquarters is in Daejeon. Professor Joo stated, “Because the NSSC is located in Seoul, there tends to be a tendency for secretariat staff to be selected based on high civil service exam scores rather than nuclear expertise or interest,” adding, “Relocating the NSSC to a provincial area is one of the options that could be considered by the next government.”