The Lee Jae-myung administration has decided to build two new nuclear power plants as planned. This effectively scraps the "nuclear phaseout" line championed under the Democratic Party's Moon Jae-in administration. Minister Kim of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said, "It has become difficult to go exactly the same way as the Moon Jae-in administration's energy policy during a period sensitized by the Fukushima nuclear accident."
At a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong on the 26th, Minister Kim was asked why the administration's position had changed from the Moon Jae-in government, which pursued a nuclear phaseout. He answered, "I think an understanding of the historical context is necessary," and responded accordingly.
He said, "At the time, because of the Fukushima nuclear accident, the world was highly sensitive to the risks of nuclear power," and added, "Also, many countries then predicted that the 'intermittency' of renewable energy could be replaced not by nuclear power but by green hydrogen."
Minister Kim said, "But as the production cost of green hydrogen has not fallen, the reality is that many countries, not only Korea, are filling that space with nuclear power rather than the green hydrogen approach," adding, "Also, unlike countries with continental scale such as those in Europe, Korea's east-west span is so short that it is very difficult to operate the power system with solar power alone, the main source of renewable energy."
He also said it was contradictory to encourage nuclear power exports while declaring that nuclear plants would not be built domestically. Minister Kim said, "From the ruling party's standpoint at the time, there were aspects that made it awkward to answer such criticism from the opposition," adding, "I think it is reasonable to properly manage the energy mix while also actively promoting overseas exports of nuclear power."
Minister Kim also suggested that the 12th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand (BPLE), to be decided in the first half of this year, could include additional new nuclear construction. He said, "In the past, the BPLE deliberations were generally closed, but in the 12th BPLE we plan to hold public forums on key contentious issues," adding, "We will review in the 12th BPLE whether (adding new nuclear plants) fits Korea's energy mix."
In response to concerns that the public deliberation related to the reconfirmation of building two new nuclear plants would delay completion beyond the original target, he said, "We have confirmed there are no particular setbacks to building the new plants in 2037–2038."
Previously, the 11th BPLE finalized in Feb. last year included a plan to introduce two large nuclear plants with a total capacity of 2.8GW (gigawatts) in 2037–2038 and to build small modular reactors (SMRs, 0.7GW) by 2035. However, after the Lee Jae-myung administration took office, figures in the ruling bloc argued that "nuclear plants should no longer be built," and in response the climate ministry launched a public deliberation process. The poll results showed more than 80% saying "nuclear power is necessary," and more than 60% saying "the existing new nuclear plans should also be pursued," and accepting this, the climate ministry decided to proceed with construction as scheduled.