Industrial Vice Minister Visits Nuclear Power Company: "Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Must Comply with Legal Procedures"

Park Il-jun, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Visits Doosan Enerbility Changwon Plant
"Construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Possible Only After Completing Permitting Procedures"

Gas turbine of Doosan Enerbility (formerly Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction).
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Park Il-jun, the newly appointed 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, chose nuclear power companies for his first on-site visit. Vice Minister Park emphasized that legal standards and procedures must be followed in the process of resuming the construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Vice Minister Park held a meeting with nuclear power industry companies in Changwon, Gyeongnam on the 20th. This meeting was arranged to convey the new government's commitment to fostering the nuclear power ecosystem on-site and to listen to the industry's difficulties. Attendees included representatives from domestic nuclear power companies such as Doosan Enerbility (formerly Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction), BHI, Samheung Machinery, and Youngjin Techwon.

The nuclear power industry insists that resuming the construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4, a key policy task of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, is urgent. The ecosystem has been fundamentally damaged over the past five years due to the nuclear phase-out policy. The industry believes that to restore the collapsed nuclear power ecosystem, work volume must be increased by resuming construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4, among other measures.

Park Il-jun, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

In response, Vice Minister Park emphasized the legal procedures necessary for resuming the construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4. He stated, "The resumption of construction for Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 must be carried out in an orderly manner by complying with legal standards and procedures. However, we are preparing to resume as quickly as possible."

He added, "To resume construction, a prerequisite is to re-reflect the construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 in the higher-level energy plans, which are essential legal and administrative procedures. Based on these higher-level plans, the licensing procedures such as the Power Development Implementation Plan must be completed before construction can begin."

Vice Minister Park also anticipated that the environmental impact assessment for Shinhanul Units 3 and 4, which expired in August last year, will take a considerable amount of time. Environmental impact assessments typically require more than one year. He said, "Among the licensing procedures, the environmental impact assessment for the approval of the Power Development Implementation Plan requires the most time. While complying with legal procedures and standards, we will ensure that the construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 proceeds as quickly as possible through prompt and thorough preliminary preparations."

Following the meeting, Vice Minister Park visited Doosan Enerbility's (formerly Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction) Changwon plant. Doosan Enerbility had begun pre-fabrication of major equipment such as reactors and turbine generators before the suspension of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 construction in 2017. Vice Minister Park inspected the progress of the processes and future schedules at the Changwon plant.

Vice Minister Park also visited Youngjin Techwon, a domestic nuclear power small and medium-sized enterprise. Youngjin Techwon participates in the localization development of nuclear power main equipment (CEDM) and holds core technologies.

Vice Minister Park said, "To alleviate the management difficulties of the nuclear power industry, we plan to prepare support measures such as early ordering of spare parts as soon as possible. We will actively reflect the industry's opinions gathered during the meeting."