Nuclear Issues in South Korea

Introductory Brief of Spent Fuel Management Reform& Nuclear Power Debates in South Korea

Kwanghoon Seok, Green Korea United27th, September, 2007CNIC Office in Tokyo

Introduction of myself

• Worked for Green Korea since 1996• Policy consultant for Energy NGOs in Korea• Energy Subcommittee member for Presidential

Commission on Sustainable Development (2002~)• Board Member of Korea Institute for Nuclear

Nonproliferation Control (2006~) • Nuke power & waste subcommittee member for

National Energy Commission (2007~)• Interested in energy market reform, nuclear

liability management reform & proliferation issues

What happened in waste issues in South Korea?

• NGOs urged SF policy reform after Buan• ILLW repository decided at MUS$300• Activists mentally shocked at the result• Spent fuel issue decoupled from ILLW• MoCIE submitted RWM law to parliament• KHNP resisted to pay back waste fund• MoST tried to defend Atomic Energy Law

PCSD’s initiative in the law

• “KHNP should pay back fund for SF management & disposal (4thrillion Won = B ￥ 494) within next 10years”(PCSD)

• KHNP insisting the payback deadline should be extended to the next 20years

• “Its financing will be tight from 2010 to 2015 due to new nuclear builds”(KHNP)

Growing Deficit of Nuclear Liabilities in KEPCO

Source: KEPCO’ Consolidated Financial Statement, June 2007, ★1 Trillion Won = B ￥ 123

Details of Nuclear Liability Deficit in KEPCO

Available Assets 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006Total Assets

in 2006

Fluid Assets

Cash & Equivalent 19,975 20,506 16,695 13,962 18,425

87,913

Shortterm financial instruments 1,379 1,190 1,590 8,528 11,636

Securities available for sale 199 1,416 191 288 151

Securities held to maturity 33 200 331 0 1

Fixed Assets

Securities available for sale 1,375 2,307 1,568 1,772 1,834

686,442 Securities held to maturity 15 22 27 30 30

Equity base invested stocks 12,143 12,962 13,861 14,485 15,434

Longterm loans 2,571 2,871 3,229 3,588 4,018

Total Available Assets 37,689 41,475 37,490 42,653 51,529774,355

Nuclear Liabilities 44,179 50,911 62,594 69,661 76,119

Source: KEPCO’s Consolidated Financial Statement 2007, Unit: 100 million Won = M ￥ 12.3

Fund User Fund Manager Management Type

US DOE’s OCRWM Treasury

Fund

(Accumulation out of Utilities)

Canada NWMO NWMO

SwedenWaste Management

Company (SKB)Safety Regulator

(SKI)

FinlandWaste Management

Company (POSIVA)DTI

Japan NUMO METI’s RWMC

France ANDRA ANDRA Liability Reserve

(Internal Account)Korea Utility (KHNP) Utility (KHNP)

Source: OECD NEA 2006

Nuclear Liability Fund Management in OECD

Source: Authors’ elaborate from UN Demographic Yearbook 2001

Countries with and without LILW Repository

What happened in NPP issues in South Korea?

• NGOs lost Shin-Kori units 1~4 battles• KHNP sacrificed Shin-Wolsong 3~4 for the

LLW repository site in Kyeong-ju• Kori-1 life extension issued, NGOs involved• KHNP prepares Wolsong-1 extension under

surface but NGOs are not interested in• Anti-nuke NGOs lost their initiative to labor

unions in energy market reform debates

What’s going on in SF issues?

• KHNP lobbying Parliament to stop the law• MOST defending its existence, emphasizing

AFCI & GNEP corporation with US DOE & US national labs.

• MOCIE pushing the law but compromising• MOCIE indicated it may drop out

centralized storage option due to technical advance

• NGOs losing their focus in SF issues & may return to simple Anti-nuke campaign

What’s going on in NPP issues?

• Life extension plan of Kori-1 is under investigation of safety institute(KINS)

• KHNP made Wolson-1 refurbishment contract(MUS$300) with AECL in 2006

• KHNP’s nuclear economics is challenged by National Energy Commission’s nuclear power subcommittee

National Energy Commission

• Energy NGOs proposed to Parliament in 2005

• Refused once but accepted by MoCIE in 2006 & launched in 2007

• Commissioner is President, 25 members are from GOs, NGOs & Universities

• 4 Subcommittees devote detail discussion; Policy, Technology, Resource Development & Conflict Management(notably Nuke Power & Waste)

Abbreviations

• KEPCO=Korea Electric Power Co., Ltd.• KHNP=Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, One of

Subsidiaries of KEPCO• SF = Spent Fuel• ILLW=Intermediate & Low Level Waste• PCSD=Presidential Commission on Sustainable

Development• MoCIE= Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy• MoST = Ministry of Science & Technology