[Interview] "Without Nuclear Power, South Korea's Economy Will Come to a Halt," Says Democratic Party Lawmaker Heo Seongmu

"Growing Consensus Within the Democratic Party on the Necessity of Nuclear Power
Czech Nuclear Project Is a Strategic Bid, Not Simply a Low-Price Contract"
"Discussion on the Ministry of Climate and Energy to Begin Immediately After the Launch of the New Administration"

Heo Seongmu, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Office of Heo Seongmu

"Renewable energy is great. Who wouldn't want to use it? However, for the sake of South Korea's industrial competitiveness, we must also utilize nuclear power."

Heo Seongmu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Seongsan District in Changwon, recently reiterated the necessity of nuclear power in an interview with a reporter. Heo is known as a leading pro-nuclear advocate within the Democratic Party.

This year, as in previous presidential elections, energy policy?including renewable energy and nuclear power?has become a major topic of debate. Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, has pledged to expand renewable energy as a key campaign promise. However, he does not completely exclude nuclear power. Instead, he promotes an "energy mix" that harmoniously utilizes both renewables and nuclear power. This is a departure from the strong anti-nuclear stance of the Moon Jaein administration.

Heo explained that, "In the past, there were overwhelmingly more lawmakers in the party advocating for renewables, but now there is much greater consensus on the necessity of nuclear power," highlighting the changing atmosphere within the Democratic Party. In fact, on May 15, the Democratic Party's "True Korea" Central Election Committee signed a policy agreement with the Nuclear Workers' Union Alliance.

Heo played a significant role in driving this change. He stated, "Lee Jaemyung’s energy policy is based on 'pragmatism centered on an energy mix,'" and emphasized, "It is not about excluding nuclear power, but about pursuing a dual strategy of expanding renewables while safely utilizing nuclear energy."

When asked about the criticism that nuclear power is not explicitly mentioned among Lee’s top ten campaign pledges, Heo responded, "It is clear that he intends to use nuclear power as a baseload source to ensure power stability," adding, "As Lee himself stated during a televised debate, his commitment to supporting and fostering small modular reactors (SMRs) is unwavering."

Heo particularly stressed, "For South Korea’s industrial competitiveness in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, as well as for manufacturing competitiveness, abundant and affordable electricity is essential." He argued that, in reality, nuclear power is indispensable in fulfilling this need.

He expressed skepticism about the opinion that the unit cost of renewables will become cheaper than nuclear power in the future. "In our country, the facility efficiency of renewables is only about 20 percent, so their economic viability is low," he said. "If nuclear power disappears now, electricity rates will skyrocket, and our industries will lose competitiveness and come to a halt."

Heo’s constituency, Changwon, is home to many companies supplying nuclear equipment, including Doosan Enerbility and its partner firms. He recently visited the Czech Republic to support the final contract for the Dukovany nuclear power plant project.

Although the Czech court accepted a preliminary injunction request from France's EDF, which had competed with Korea, and the contract was temporarily delayed, Heo said that after meeting with Czech government and parliamentary officials, he became confident in "Team Korea’s" prospects for winning the bid. He stated, "The Czech government and parliamentary officials we met directly gave very high marks to Korea’s technology, ability to meet deadlines, and budget stability," and conveyed that Korea is regarded as the most trustworthy partner in the Czech Republic.

Regarding the controversy over low pricing, Heo explained, "It is not simply a matter of lowering the price; we made a competitive proposal while guaranteeing quality and performance," adding, "This should be seen as a 'strategic bid' that combines technical performance with economic feasibility."

Heo emphasized, "The Czech project is not just an overseas venture," adding, "It will have a significant ripple effect on both upstream and downstream industries, as Doosan Enerbility, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, and hundreds of small and medium-sized partner companies will participate together." He expressed hope that, if the final contract is signed and full-scale construction begins, it could signal an industrial transformation that would allow the machinery industry to make a new leap forward.

In March, Heo introduced a partial amendment to the Government Organization Act that would establish a new Ministry of Climate and Energy, responsible for addressing the climate crisis and energy transition. However, this proposal was not included in Lee Jaemyung’s presidential campaign pledges. Regarding this, Heo explained, "Since the next administration will have to begin work immediately without a transition committee, it was not possible to include government reorganization in the campaign pledges," and added, "As soon as the new government is launched, we will begin discussions in the National Assembly to amend the Government Organization Act so that the Ministry of Climate and Energy can be established as early as possible."

Heo expects that the Ministry of Climate and Energy will serve as an integrated control tower for climate and energy policy, unify national power planning?including renewable energy, industrial energy efficiency, and carbon reduction?and enhance policy consistency by resolving conflicts and coordinating among fragmented government ministries. He emphasized, "The Ministry of Climate and Energy is not just the creation of a new organization; it represents a shift in government operations to respond to the era of climate crisis."