South Korea re-emphasises nuclear power in new energy policy

The Republic of (South) Korea’s (ROK’s) new administration (inaugurated in May) has announced a new energy policy which re-emphasises the importance of nuclear energy for the country, World Nuclear News has reported. New President Yoon Suk-yeol had promised to reverse the nuclear phase-out policy of his predecessor, President Moon Jae-in, which had been adopted on the latter’s inauguration in 2017, as a reaction to the Fukushima Daiichi crisis in Japan in 2011. The new policy aimed to ensure that nuclear power provided at least 30% of the country’s energy mix. The target date for achieving this was 2030. This would be achieved by completing nuclear power plants (NPPs) now under construction, and safely extending the lives of existing NPPs.