Nuclear Reactor Question

[Anchor Lead]

The committee established to engage the public on the construction of Shin-gori 5 and 6 nuclear reactors has clarified its formerly controversial role. The government will make final decisions and the public engagement committee will deliver its recommendations as an advisory board.

[Pkg]

Originally, the government had stated that it would wholly accept the decision of the public engagement committee and bear the responsibility for those decisions regarding the latest suspension of nuclear reactor construction. But the government later caused confusion by saying that the committee would not be deciding on the nuclear reactor construction. In the wake of the controversy, the committee announced its official stance after holding its third meeting yesterday.

[Soundbite] Kim Ji-hyeong (Head of the Shin-gori 5 & 6 Public Engagement Committee) : "Public engagement is one of the phases in reaching public consensus taken before making final policy decisions."

The committee's role has been defined not as a decision-making body, but as an advisory board that designs public engagement methods, oversees the process, and delivers its findings to the government in the form of recommendations. In line with that job description, the name "civic jury" will be changed since the title can be mistaken for a body that can make final decisions like court rulings.

[Soundbite] Lee Hee-jin (Spokesperson, Shin-gori 5 & 6 Public Engagement Committee) : "The "civic jury" will be renamed the "civic representatives' participatory body" for Shin-gori 5 & 6 public engagement."

The committee will include in the recommendations the percentages of those for or against the construction surveyed during the public engagement process and will also offer solutions to key issues. The committee also said it will keep discussing whether to include the residents living near the reactor construction site in the civic participatory group.