Two New Large-Scale Nuclear Reactors to be Built in Yeongdeok, Gyeongju Fails to Secure SMR Project

[Anchor]

Yeongdeok has been selected as the final site for a new nuclear power plant. This comes eight years after the area was designated as the site for the Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant, only for the project to be scrapped. Two 1.4-gigawatt large-scale nuclear reactors will be built sequentially in the areas of Yeongdeok-eup and Chuksan-myeon by 2038. Meanwhile, Gyeongju, which had sought to host Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), failed in its bid, losing out to Busan.

Report by TBC reporter Park Cheol-hee.

[Reporter]

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced that it has selected Yeongdeok-gun as the final candidate site for two new large-scale nuclear reactors in accordance with the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand.

In the evaluation by a site selection committee composed of external experts, Yeongdeok-gun scored 91.01 points out of 100, surpassing Ulsan Ulju-gun, which scored 82.63 points.

This marks a return to the site eight years after it was originally confirmed for the Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant, only to be canceled in 2018 under the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy.

Yeongdeok-gun submitted its bid to KHNP in March, citing a public opinion poll showing an 86% approval rate among residents for hosting the nuclear plant. This high level of public acceptance is believed to have been a major factor in the selection.

The site proposed by Yeongdeok-gun covers 3.24 million square meters, including Seok-ri, Nomul-ri, and Maejeong-ri in Yeongdeok-eup, and Gyeongjeong-ri in Chuksan-myeon. Analysts suggest that the site's scalability, capable of accommodating up to six reactors, was highly rated.

KHNP plans to build two 1.4-gigawatt large-scale reactors here by 2037 and 2038, respectively. With existing plants in Gyeongju and Uljin, this is expected to form a massive nuclear power belt along the east coast of Gyeongsangbuk-do.

Yeongdeok-gun is welcoming the news, stating that it provides a new growth engine for a region that had been struggling with the threat of extinction and the aftermath of forest fire damage.

The county plans to lay the groundwork for a turnaround through various statutory subsidies, job creation, and population inflow during the construction and operation of the plant, while also accelerating the development of an energy industrial complex and improving living conditions for residents.

[Interview: Cho Ju-hong, Yeongdeok County Governor-elect: We will promptly form a communication policy committee and an energy mix committee so that Yeongdeok residents, regardless of their stance on the nuclear plant, can effectively benefit from the new project. We will respond quickly and calmly.]

Meanwhile, Gyeongju, which had entered the race to host SMRs near the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, faced disappointment after losing to Gijang-gun, Busan.

The city had aimed to build an SMR cluster in the eastern Gyeongju area by integrating the MunmuDaewang Science Institute, a national SMR research institution nearing its opening, with a future national SMR industrial complex. However, those plans will be difficult to realize for the time being.

(Video coverage: Kim Myeong-soo, Park Jong-young, TBC)

Reported by Park Cheol-hee | Produced by TBC
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.