Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Approves Kori Unit 2 Accident Management Plan After Vote

The appearance of Kori Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 to 4 Photo by Yonhap News

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission held its 223rd meeting on October 23 and approved the agenda for the Kori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 Accident Management Plan through a vote. During the meeting, the approval agenda failed to reach a consensus due to opposition from Commissioner Jin Jaeyong, and a vote was conducted, with six out of seven commissioners voting in favor, thus passing the agenda.

The Accident Management Plan is a document that stipulates comprehensive measures-including strategies, implementation systems, and facilities-to prevent the escalation of a nuclear power plant accident, including severe accidents, to mitigate its impact, and to restore the plant to a safe condition. The agenda for the Kori Unit 2 Accident Management Plan was discussed prior to the agenda for the continued operation approval of Kori Unit 2, which was also submitted on the same day.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power submitted the Accident Management Plan for Kori Unit 2 in 2019. Since then, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) conducted a review of document compliance and a safety assessment through July of this year. KINS evaluated the accident management strategies, implementation systems, and accident management capabilities.

Subsequently, the expert committee of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission conducted a preliminary review of the KINS assessment results from April to September this year. The expert committee determined that the KINS conclusion-that the Kori Unit 2 Accident Management Plan meets the approval criteria of the Nuclear Safety Act-was valid.

Taking into account the different design characteristics from the APR1400 advanced nuclear reactor (whose Accident Management Plan was approved at the 206th meeting of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on January 9, 2025), which incorporated severe accident response facilities from the design stage, Kori Unit 2 newly reflected severe accident mitigation facilities in its design, such as the establishment of an external injection pathway for alternative containment building spray.

With the approval of the Accident Management Plan for Kori Unit 2, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power must complete on-site actions such as design changes for the application of mobile equipment and conduct training every two years to maintain the effectiveness of the accident response plan. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission stated that it would thoroughly verify whether the Accident Management Plan for Kori Unit 2 is properly implemented on site as approved.

Meanwhile, on this day, Commissioner Jin Jaeyong raised concerns, stating, "The accident management plan regarding aircraft collision and atmospheric dispersion does not align with the literature." Commissioner Jin further proposed a verification process involving external civilian experts, but other commissioners opposed this, arguing that it would constitute an administrative action without legal basis.

Commissioner Park Chunhong commented, "Civilians can participate, but their participation should not be a prerequisite for the passage of the agenda under review."

Im Seungcheol, President of KINS, who led the review of the Accident Management Plan, stated, "The review results were also examined by a working committee that included four external members during the expert committee's review process of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission," adding, "Proposing additional verification by external civilians at the final stage could undermine the function and status of the expert committee."

However, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission decided to include in its official notice that the Accident Management Plan must specify factors such as atmospheric dispersion and aircraft collision, as well as terrorism-related content.