▲ This file photo shows President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) tours a nuclear reactor factory owned by Doosan Enerbility Co. in the southeastern city of Changwon, on June 22, 2022. (Yonhap)

S Korea-nuclear reactors

S. Korea to begin preparatory construction of Shin Hanul nuclear reactors this week

SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will begin work this week to build the foundations for the Shin Hanul 3 and 4 nuclear reactors awaiting final approval by the state nuclear agency, the industry ministry said Monday.

The Yoon Suk Yeol government is working to resume building the two 1,400-megawatt nuclear power plants in the coastal county of Uljin, 218 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which had been suspended since 2017 under the previous administration's nuclear phase-out policy.

During a meeting involving the relevant ministries earlier in the day, the government approved a comprehensive plan for the project and decided to begin preparatory work on the site starting on Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission is supposed to make a final approval on the construction plan, which would take at least a couple of years, officials said.

The project worth 11.7 trillion won (US$9.08 billion) calls for the completion of the construction by around 2032 and 2033.

The resumption decision came as the government seeks to expand the country's nuclear power generation to more than 30 percent of its total energy output by 2030 in order to boost energy security and better meet net-zero goals.

The comparable figure came to 27.4 percent in 2021.

"The envisioned reactors are expected to play a key role in electricity supply after 2030, as demand is expected to grow in line with the increasing usage of electric vehicles and the development of advanced industries," a ministry official said.

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