[Report] Continuous Operation and Dismantling Both Stalled... Frustrating Gori 1 Power Plant

"Extend Continuous Operation Approval Period from 10 to 20 Years"
Technology Exists... Gori Unit 1 Decommissioning Stalled for Over 5 Years

'Reactor Output 0%', 'Generator Output 0MWh'

When entering the main control room (the control tower that acts as the brain of the power plant) of Kori Nuclear Power Unit 2, located in Gijang-gun, Busan, this digital phrase is seen directly ahead. The numbers displayed on the reactor control panel indicate that Kori Unit 2's operation has been halted. If it were operating normally, it would show ‘100%’ instead of 0%, and ‘680MWh’ instead of 0MWh. This situation arose due to delays in the application for continued operation caused by the previous government's nuclear phase-out policy.

Energy Cost Savings of 108 Trillion Won by Continued Operation of 10 Nuclear Reactors

On the 12th, I visited the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Kori Nuclear Power Headquarters. Before entering, I was informed at the PR center that electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones are not allowed inside. Seeing the 10-meter-high flood barrier installed after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, the 38 emergency response facilities including mobile power generators and road repair equipment stored in an integrated storage facility, it became clear that entering this national security facility prioritizing safety was a serious matter.

KHNP is currently promoting the continued operation of Kori Unit 2. ‘Continued operation’ means that a nuclear power plant that has completed its initial operating license period can continue to operate if it meets safety standards. The initial operating license period for Kori Unit 2 was 40 years from April 9, 1983. To have been restarted without interruption, the continued operation procedures should have started 3 to 4 years before the license expiration, in 2019-2020. However, due to the nuclear phase-out policy, this was delayed and only began under the current government. The ‘energy hero’ that supplied power equivalent to what the entire Busan population would use in 10 years over 40 years had to stop operation on April 8 this year. As a result, all reactors under the jurisdiction of the first power plant (Units 1 and 2) are currently stopped.

Some refer to continued operation as ‘life extension.’ However, a KHNP official explained, “The operating license period has a different meaning from the technical lifespan of a nuclear power plant,” adding, “It is merely a concept set in the past in the U.S. to prevent economic monopolies by nuclear power operators.” According to KHNP, as of the end of last year, out of 439 operating reactors worldwide, more than half?233 reactors?have been approved for continued operation.

Under Korean law, if an application for continued operation is submitted, the plant can operate for an additional 10 years after passing a safety evaluation. In the U.S. and Japan, the extension period is 20 years, and in the U.S., some reactors have been approved to operate up to 80 years.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission is currently conducting the main safety evaluation review for the continued operation of Kori Unit 2. KHNP aims to restart the reactor as early as June 2025, considering various procedures. However, the 10-year extension starts from the initial license expiration date (April 8, 2023), not the restart date (targeted June 2025), so a power generation gap of 2 years and 2 months is unavoidable.

Mo Sang-young, the head of the first power plant at Kori Nuclear Power Headquarters, who has worked at KHNP for 38 years since starting at Kori Unit 2 in 1986, said, “Every day feels wasted,” and added, “I hope the regulation changes to allow operation for 10 more years from the restart date or, following global trends, to allow 20 more years at once like in the U.S. and Japan.”

On the day the reporter visited, staff were working in three shifts every 8 hours in the main control room of Kori Unit 2, just like during operation. Although there was no power generation work, tasks such as maintaining radiation and residual heat cooling functions from spent nuclear fuel and checking various equipment were necessary. A banner reading “Kori Unit 2 becomes safer with continued operation” was also hung on the control room ceiling. Employees put it up together as a commitment to continued operation on the day the operation stopped.

A view of the control room of Gori Unit 2, which temporarily ceased operation on April 8. Photo by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power

It is not only Kori Unit 2. There are 10 domestic reactors, including Kori Units 3 and 4, whose operating licenses will expire within the next 7 years. KHNP estimates that continued operation of these reactors could save the nation over 107.6 trillion won in energy costs. A KHNP official explained, “Based on last year's average electricity sales price, this is the additional electricity bill that would have been incurred if the power generated over the past 10 years had been replaced by LNG.”

Decommissioning Technology for Kori Unit 1 Exists, but Timing Uncertain

Kori Unit 1, which is adjacent to Kori Unit 2 like a sibling, is stopped for a different reason. Unlike its younger sibling waiting for restart approval, Unit 1 was permanently shut down in 2017 and is awaiting decommissioning approval.

Wearing safety shoes and helmets, upon entering the turbine building of Kori Unit 1, facilities such as the generator, turbine, and valves immediately caught the eye. These are all facilities that will be decontaminated and dismantled in the future. Park Woong, head of safety management at Kori Unit 1 Power Plant, explained, “We are preparing for decommissioning using the ‘immediate dismantling’ method, which takes about 15 years,” adding, “Compared to the ‘deferred dismantling’ method, which lowers radiation levels and proceeds over about 60 years, this method reduces decommissioning costs and allows for faster reuse of the dismantled site.”

Overview of the turbine room at Gori Unit 1. Photo by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power

All the necessary technology for decommissioning has been developed. A KHNP official said, “We are currently promoting the advancement of decommissioning technology in connection with government R&D projects,” and added, “We also have the intention to lead the global decommissioning market.”

However, even if decommissioning approval is granted, the lack of a place to store spent nuclear fuel from Unit 1 poses a problem. Currently, 485 bundles (167.18 tons) of spent nuclear fuel are stored in a wet storage facility in the form of pools. KHNP is pursuing a plan to build a dry storage facility within the Kori headquarters and transfer the fuel there, but strong opposition from local residents makes this difficult.

A KHNP official said, “We applied for decommissioning approval to the regulatory agency (NSSC) in May 2021, but approval has not been granted for over two years, and there is also the issue of spent nuclear fuel management,” adding, “The original goal was to complete decommissioning by the end of 2032, but now it is uncertain.”