The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said on the 1st that it drafted a 2027 budget proposal of 303 billion won, up 10.4 billion won from this year. Next year, it will expand investment in building a regulatory framework for small modular reactors (SMRs), conducting continuous inspections of nuclear power plants, and strengthening radiation monitoring and analysis systems.
First, 8 billion won will be invested in safety regulation research and development (R&D) to prepare for the commercialization of non–light-water SMRs. In line with the preliminary review system set to be introduced in November this year, 2.7 billion won was also allocated for design reviews of non–light-water SMRs expected to begin next year.
For the development of technologies to verify safety across the entire lifecycle—design, construction, operation, and decommissioning—of the government-developed innovative SMR (i-SMR), 12.3 billion won will be invested. The total R&D budget, including research on new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear fusion, as well as flexible operation of nuclear plants, decommissioning, and spent nuclear fuel storage and disposal, is 70.5 billion won.
Budgets for safety reviews and inspections of existing nuclear plants will also increase. For continued operation safety reviews, 9.1 billion won was allocated; for the decommissioning review of Wolsong Unit 1, 1 billion won; and for the decommissioning inspection of Kori Unit 1, 900 million won.
In particular, starting in January next year, the continuous inspection system—which conducts inspections even while plants are operating—will be fully implemented. Accordingly, the budget for regular inspections was set at 7.7 billion won, up 2.5 billion won from this year. Previously, inspections were concentrated during planned maintenance periods, but going forward, inspections will be possible year-round regardless of operational status.
A total of 4.8 billion won was allocated for projects related to information disclosure and communication in areas around nuclear plants. Following the opening this year of Nuclear Safety Information Sharing Centers in Kori, Wolsong, Yeonggwang, and Saeul, three more will be added next year in Gochang, Hanul, and Daejeon to complete a nationwide network of seven centers. An AI-based search function will also be introduced to the Nuclear Safety Information Sharing Portal.
For the establishment and operation of a National Radiation Monitoring Center to strengthen environmental radiation monitoring, 1.4 billion won was allocated. The center will be set up at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) to enhance sample analysis in domestic waters and around nuclear plants, and an integrated information system will be built by linking currently dispersed environmental, atmospheric, and seawater radiation data.
Choi Won-ho, chair of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, said, "The 2027 budget proposal for the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission includes essential funding to respond in a timely manner not only to current but also future safety regulation issues, and, above all, to transparently disclose both the processes and results of safety regulation to the public and communicate even more closely."
Next year's budget proposal for the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission will be finalized after deliberation and approval by the National Assembly.