Designing of new nuclear power plants put on ice under Moon administration

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) said Thursday that it postponed a plan to design two new nuclear power plants to be built in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province.

The state-run nuclear power plant operator said that it had asked KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co. (KEPCO E&C) to halt the designing of Units 3 and 4 of the Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin. KHNP signed a design contract with KEPCO E&C in March 2016, before obtaining a license for power generation. Under the original plan, Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 would be completed by December 2022 and December 2023, respectively.

However, the situation has changed following the inauguration of President Moon Jae-in, who vowed to curtail the nation’s dependence on nuclear power plants. During his campaign, Moon pledged to halt the ongoing construction of new nuclear power plants and cancel all construction plans. “We have found it difficult to push for the designing project under the circumstances where the government policy (toward nuclear power plants) is fluid,” a KHNP official said. The company plans to continue its business related with power plant construction licensing.

Min-Woo Park minwoo@donga.com