South Korea Approves First Nuclear Plant Dismantlement

The Kori No. 1 reactor and No. 2 reactor are located in Ulsan, approximately 410 km southeast of Seoul.

South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved the initial dismantlement of a nuclear power plant, the Kori-1, which ceased operations in 2017 after 39 years. The commission announced this decision in a statement.

The panel approved a plan by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) to decommission the plant. The project is estimated to cost 1.1 trillion won ($810 million) and will span 12 years. This includes managing about 170,000 tons of nuclear waste.

This marks the first decommissioning project of its kind in South Korea. The country is the world's fifth-largest producer of nuclear energy, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a significant builder of atomic power plants globally.

The nuclear safety commission determined that KHNP's plan met the technical requirements outlined in the country's nuclear safety management laws.

Experts suggest that this decommissioning operation could allow South Korea to enter the global nuclear decommissioning market. This market is currently led by the United States, with other countries like Japan and Germany also participating.

In 2024, nuclear power stations generated 31.7% of South Korea's electric power, based on government data. The country currently operates 26 power plants. The Kori-1 power plant was the first to begin commercial operation, in 1978.