Four out of 10 people said Korea should expand domestic nuclear power generation. Two out of three said nuclear power is safe.
In a public opinion poll of 1,001 people aged 18 or older nationwide conducted by Gallup Korea on the 14th–16th and released on the 17th, 40% answered that nuclear power generation policy "should be expanded." Another 37% said it "should be kept at the current level," and 11% said it "should be reduced."
In 2018, responses that nuclear power generation "should be expanded" stood at 14%, while "should be reduced" was 32%. At that time, the Moon Jae-in administration announced a nuclear phaseout policy. Since then, favorable public opinion toward nuclear power generation has risen.
A Gallup Korea official said the shift in domestic and international perceptions can be attributed to the global energy supply crunch stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war, a surge in electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI), and the development of next-generation nuclear technologies.
Asked about the safety and risks of domestic nuclear power plants, 64% answered they are "safe," while 22% said they are "dangerous." In July 2017, 32% said "safe" and 54% said "dangerous."
The survey was conducted through telephone interviewer interviews to randomly generated virtual mobile numbers. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a contact rate of 43.8% and a response rate of 12.1%.