Two New Large-Scale Nuclear Reactors to be Built in Yeongdeok, SMR in Gijang

[Anchor]

Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang Province has been selected as the site for two new large-scale nuclear reactors. This is a location where the construction of a nuclear power plant was previously pursued. Meanwhile, the first small modular reactor (SMR) to be introduced in Korea will be built in Gijang, Busan.

Reported by Jang Sun-yi.

[Reporter]

Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang Province and Ulju in Ulsan had been competing to host the two new large-scale nuclear reactors.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) held a site selection committee meeting today (June 17) and confirmed Yeongdeok as the site.

Previously, the government announced plans to build two large-scale nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 2.8GW and one 0.7GW small modular reactor (SMR), in accordance with the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand finalized in February last year.

Yeongdeok was previously selected as a nuclear power plant site in 2012 during the Lee Myung-bak administration, but the project was scrapped under the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy.

The site has been considered advantageous because over 80% of local residents support the project, and nearly 20% of the land acquisition has already been completed.

This allows for the reduction of procedures, costs, and time.

The goal is to complete the new reactors between 2037 and 2038, which is expected to help meet the rising electricity demand driven by the expansion of the artificial intelligence and semiconductor industries.

[Choi Sung-min / President of the Korean Nuclear Society: Globally, electricity demand is increasing rapidly due to AI data centers and electrification for carbon neutrality. South Korea, which possesses a world-class nuclear power industry, already has the execution capability to expand its nuclear power capacity.]

Gijang in Busan was selected as the site for the nation's first SMR, beating out Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province.

Gijang has highlighted its advantage of being able to leverage existing nuclear industry infrastructure, as it is already home to the Kori Unit 2, 3, and 4 reactors.

While today's site selection is expected to provide momentum for new nuclear power plant construction, environmental groups are likely to protest, arguing that the sites were decided without first establishing measures for radioactive waste.

(Video Editing: Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.