Saewool Unit 3 is expected to begin commercial operation around Oct. after a pre-operation inspection. As soon as the review is completed, the operating license plan for Saewool Unit 4 will be placed on the agenda of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission meeting in Dec.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission reported its second-half 2026 work plan with these details to the president at the Blue House State Guest House on the 4th.
Saewool Unit 3 is currently in a trial run that raises and lowers output to check the performance of various facilities. Lim Si-woo, director general for safety policy at the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, said at a pre-briefing on the 3rd, "In the trial run, some issues appeared in the turbine system and are being improved," and noted, "This is not a serious matter, and we are proceeding on schedule with a goal of commercial operation in Oct."
The operating license plan for Saewool Unit 4 will be submitted to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission around Dec. once the safety review is completed. In addition, for Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4, which are currently under construction, on-site inspections by major work process will be strengthened, and North Gyeongsang's Yeongdeok, confirmed as a candidate site for a new nuclear plant, will undergo a preliminary check to see whether existing technical standards are still suitable for current conditions.
Reviews for continued operation of nuclear plants that have reached their 40-year design life will also proceed. The plan to permit continued operation of Kori Units 3 and 4 will be placed on the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission meeting agenda in the second half of this year, and Hanbit Units 1 and 2 will be sent for deliberation in the first half of next year. To quickly resolve technical issues that arise during reviews, the commission will operate a "regulatory issues task force" involving the regulator, related ministries, and the operator, while also conducting a parallel review by an expert committee.
Chairperson Choi Won-ho said, "Streamlining reviews does not mean skipping what should be examined or omitting procedures," and explained, "It is about efficiently handling matters that are similar or common to those previously reviewed."
The regulatory scope will expand beyond existing large reactors to SMRs and spent fuel facilities. The innovative SMR (i-SMR), for which a standard design approval was applied in Feb., will be reviewed under dedicated guidelines and by a dedicated team. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission plans to establish draft SMR technical standards by the end of 2027 and overhaul the legal framework by 2030 to encompass reactors of various purposes and forms.
Reviews of dry storage facilities, which store spent fuel from reactors in special casks, will also begin in earnest. KHNP applied in Apr. for permits for a dry storage facility at the Hanbit site, and applications for the Kori and Hanul sites are planned for Dec. The facilities are being pursued at a scale that can store spent fuel generated until an interim storage facility is prepared in 2050.
The inspection method for nuclear plants will shift from periodic inspections concentrated in planned outages to year-round continuous inspections. Starting in 2027, inspections will be conducted throughout the year regardless of whether a plant is operating or under maintenance, and vulnerable equipment and key safety performance indicators will be continuously checked.
Penalties for concealing incidents will also be strengthened. Earlier, in the course of investigating a power outage at Wolseong Unit 4 in May 2024, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission identified an organized attempt to conceal it and referred the case to prosecutors, but received the view that it would be difficult to punish the actual actors due to ambiguous legal provisions. The commission plans to finalize by Dec. an amendment to the Nuclear Safety Act that would clarify reporting obligations or establish a separate offense for concealing incidents.
Chairperson Choi said, "For national energy policies such as building nuclear plants, continued operation, and introducing SMRs to proceed without setbacks, safety that the public can trust must come first," and added, "We will thoroughly verify the safety of nuclear facilities and transparently disclose the process and results to the public."