There is a reason Finland, Sweden and France have succeeded in implementing policies on high-level radioactive waste. Finland firmly institutionalized the process and trusted experts to secure public acceptance. In France, politicians in the National Assembly resolved multiple conflicts. Korea needs both elements.
On the second day of the 2026 Korea Atomic Energy Annual Conference being held at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) on the 23rd, Song Jong-soon, a professor at Chosun University, said in a discussion on the theme of "life-cycle strategies for a sustainable nuclear industry" that the requirements for handling high-level radioactive waste are not scientific or technological but in the humanities and social realms, because proving the safety of high-level radioactive waste must be done over at least about 100,000 years.
High-level radioactive waste refers to spent nuclear fuel. Although it accounts for only 3% of waste by volume, it makes up more than 95% of total radioactivity, so countries are exploring ways to handle it. Most countries, including Korea, are currently at the stage of temporarily storing spent nuclear fuel. Temporary storage means submerging it in cooling pools inside reactor buildings for more than 5 to 10 years to dissipate heat. As a result, countries are considering installing barriers in bedrock 500 to 1,000 meters underground to permanently isolate spent nuclear fuel.
In this regard, Finland has completed the world's first spent nuclear fuel repository, Onkalo, and is preparing to begin operations. Mika Pohjonen, president of Finland's Posiva, said, "We are commissioning the spent nuclear fuel repository using simulated fuel," and added, "We have submitted our operating license application to Finland's nuclear safety authority and are awaiting the regulator's approval. It would be good if we can receive the license this year or, at the latest, in the first half of next year."
From the perspective of the nuclear fuel cycle, in addition to storing spent nuclear fuel in a repository, there is also the option of recycling it to ensure the sustainability of nuclear power plants. If uranium and plutonium are separated from spent nuclear fuel and reused as fuel, the volume of waste can be reduced.
Ed McGinnis, chief executive officer (CEO) of U.S.-based Curio, which is developing technology to recycle spent nuclear fuel, said, "There are 100,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel accumulated at 60 sites across 30 U.S. states, and 96% of the energy still remains unused," adding, "We can extract about 4,000 tons of highly valuable metals such as rhodium."
Ed said, "Spent nuclear fuel has accumulated around the world, and it needs to be recycled in various ways," adding, "Four U.S. national laboratories have produced research findings indicating that, after a series of processes, spent nuclear fuel can be reduced to as little as 4%." He went on to say that the approach to recycling spent nuclear fuel "aims to be commercialized by 2033," adding, "We are forming partnerships with various affiliates and carrying out a range of activities."
However, Professor Song said, "From the perspective of the nuclear fuel cycle, to ensure sustainability, we not only need to secure nuclear fuel for use in nuclear power plants in a timely and stable manner but also need a solution for the final management of spent nuclear fuel," adding, "It would be best to develop a nuclear fuel cycle that does not generate spent nuclear fuel, and since research is underway around the world, it seems reasonable to expect technological development."