PLANS TO BOOST NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION

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The Yoon Suk-yeol administration officially announced that it will replace the previous government's plan to phase out nuclear power plants. The new plan is to boost nuclear power generation to 30% of the total power output and resume the construction of Shin Hanul nuclear power plants number three and four.

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This was supposed to be the site of Shin Hanul nuclear power plants number three and four. Following the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear power phase-out plan, the site has been neglected since the construction was suspended in 2017. Consequently, nuclear power came to account for less of Korea's power generation. In fact, the share of nuclear power generation, which used to be more than 30%, fell to as low as 23%. President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized this trend must be corrected.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(President) : "If the previous government stopped being foolish and had built a stronger nuclear power ecosystem for the past 5 years, I believe Korea would be unrivaled by now."

The Yoon government officially announced Tuesday that the nuclear phase-out policy will be scrapped. The administration stated that the Moon government's plan to phase out nuclear power generation would be replaced. More specifically, the percentage of nuclear power generation will be boosted to over 30% by 2030. The construction of Shin Hanul nuclear plants number three and four will resume as well. To further stimulate the nuclear power industry, Korea plans to export 10 nuclear reactors and independently develop small modular reactor models by 2030. Power generation share targets for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power will be re-established. The previous administration had set the desired percentages at 30% by 2030. The current government will devise more detailed plans by the end of the year.

[Soundbite] Lee Chang-yang(Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy(July 4)) : "We plan to steer energy policy in two directions. One is to utilize nuclear power plants to stabilize supply and reverse former policies."

Environmental groups criticized the government as having no plans to deal with the disposal of increased nuclear waste and highlighted the risks of extending the lifespan of old nuclear plants. The activists also claimed there are no detailed measures to reduce greenhouse gases.