Energy Information & Culture Foundation Announces 2023 National Energy Awareness Survey Results
More than half of the population believes that 'domestic nuclear power generation should be increased,' yet over 56% oppose the construction of nuclear power plants in their neighborhoods.
On the 6th, the Korea Energy Information Culture Foundation announced the results of the '2023 National Energy Awareness Survey' containing these findings.
The foundation commissioned the Korea Research Center to conduct a 1:1 telephone survey with interviewers over four days from September 23 to October 5 (excluding weekends and holidays), targeting 1,000 adults aged 18 and older nationwide. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 7.2%.
According to the survey, 75.6% of respondents said nuclear power generation is necessary, while 22.1% said it is not. This means that three out of four ordinary citizens answered that 'nuclear power generation is necessary.'
Regarding nuclear power plant safety, 66.1% of respondents answered 'safe,' and 60.9% agreed on the 'safety of radioactive waste management at domestic nuclear power plants.' The primary reason for considering nuclear power plants safe was 'trust in the overall technology including design, construction, and operation of nuclear power plants' (38.9%), while the main reason for perceiving them as unsafe was 'concern about unexpected accidents' (57.6%).
About the continued operation of domestic nuclear power plants, 7 out of 10 people (70.6%) supported it, and more than half of the respondents (55.5%) said 'domestic nuclear power generation should be increased.'
However, when it comes to the construction of nuclear power plants in their residential areas, 56.4% said they would 'oppose,' which is higher than the 42.0% who said they would 'support.' The top reason for opposition was 'concern about the risk of radiation exposure' (59.0%), while the top reason among supporters was 'necessary for energy self-sufficiency' (51.1%).
Furthermore, 91.8% of respondents said that 'establishing facilities for spent nuclear fuel storage and processing is urgent.' The urgency of dry storage facilities within nuclear power plant sites was also high at 80.3%. Additionally, 53.0% of respondents said they would 'support' the construction of spent nuclear fuel processing facilities in their residential areas if appropriate compensation and safety guarantees were provided.
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