The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission's 2026 budget bill and fund operation plan passed the National Assembly's plenary session on the 2nd and were finalized.
Next year's total budget and fund size for the commission is 292.7 billion won, approved at nearly the same level as the government's submission of 292.6 billion won. That is up 5.7% from this year.
In particular, to proactively respond to rising regulatory demand, the commission will invest 119.1 billion won in research and development (R&D). That is 17.4 billion won more than this year.
Of that, 22.5 billion won is allocated for research related to small modular reactors (SMRs). Research to secure regulatory technologies needed across the full cycle—from design to construction, operation, and decommissioning—of the innovative small modular reactor (i-SMR) being promoted by the government will be expanded in earnest. The commission also plans to prepare a related regulatory framework in advance to prepare for the development and commercialization of non-light-water SMRs that do not use water as a coolant.
A total of 63 billion won will also be invested to inspect the safety of domestic nuclear power plants across their full life cycle. The plan is to conduct systematic safety verification throughout the design, construction, operation, long-term operation, and decommissioning stages, and to improve review efficiency. In particular, to steadily proceed with the imminent standard design approval review for the i-SMR, the commission will reinforce expert personnel and provide focused support of 3.1 billion won for review-related funding.
The build-out of emergency response infrastructure to strengthen radiological disaster response capabilities will also accelerate. Following the Ulju regional command center in 2022 and the Hanul regional command center in 2025, the Hanbit-area regional command center in Buan, North Jeolla, will be completed in 2026. This will provide a total of eight radiological emergency response command hubs nationwide, including five on-site command centers and three regional command centers. Once the regional radiological emergency command system is complete, it is expected to enable swift and systematic protection of residents and on-site response in the event of a large-scale accident like the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
Radiation safety management for overseas direct-purchase goods will also be further strengthened. In anticipation of increased inflows of overseas direct-purchase goods via Incheon International Airport, the commission budgeted 370 million won to add and operate radiation monitors. While e-commerce overseas direct purchases account for 94% of express cargo and the current screening rate remains around 72%, securing five additional monitors is expected to raise the screening rate to about 80% next year.
Chair Choi Won-ho said, "We will thoroughly prepare for execution starting this year so the results of key policies can be felt by the public," adding, "We will put nuclear and radiation safety first and protect the lives and safety of the people."