Ceremonies have been held to mark the completion of units 1 and 2 of South Korea's Shin Hanul nuclear power plant, as well as the start of construction of units 3 and 4 at the plant. The new APR1400 units are scheduled to be completed by 2032 and 2033, respectively. ;

Ceremonies have been held to mark the completion of units 1 and 2 of South Korea’s Shin Hanul nuclear power plant, as well as the start of construction of units 3 and 4 at the plant. The new APR1400 units are scheduled to be completed by 2032 and 2033, respectively.

Shin Hanul units 1 and 2 - both APR1400 units - entered commercial operation in December 2022 and April this year, respectively. Speaking at the ceremony, President Yoon Seok-yeol noted, “Shin Hanul units 1 and 2 are the first nuclear power plants completed under our government, and Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 are the first nuclear power plants to be started.”

In November 2014, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed an agreement with Ulchin County to build Shin Hanul 3 and 4. The company applied for a construction licence for the units in January 2016. Site preparation for the two units was originally scheduled to begin in May 2017, with commercial operation of unit 3 scheduled for December 2022, with unit 4 following a year later. However, KHNP announced in May 2017 that it had instructed Kepco Engineering & Construction - which signed a design contract in March 2016 - to suspend work for the planned units as a result of the then new President Moon Jae-in’s policy of phasing out nuclear power. Work towards licensing the new units was to continue.

President Yoon - who assumed power in May 2022 - reversed the former president’s policy of phasing out nuclear power. In July 2022, Yoon encouraged a speedy restoration of the country’s “nuclear power plant ecosystem” after Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang set out plans for revitalising South Korea’s nuclear power industry, including the aim for work on Shin Hanul 3 and 4 to resume as early as 2024.

“During the last presidential election, I visited this very site where construction of Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 was halted and promised the people that if I were elected president, I would immediately restore the nuclear power ecosystem and immediately resume construction of Shin Hanul units 3 and 4,” Yoon said at today’s ceremony.

Preparatory groundwork began for the construction of the two APR1400s following the approval by the South Korean government of the project’s implementation plan in June 2023. The approval of the plan effectively approved 20 licensing and permitting procedures under the jurisdiction of 11 ministries required for the construction of nuclear power plants. South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission issued a licence to KHNP for the construction of Shin Hanul 3 and 4 in September.

In March last year, KHNP and Doosan Enerbility signed a KRW2.9 trillion (USD2.2 billion) contract for the supply of the main equipment for Shin Hanul 3 and 4. Under the contract - which will run for 10 years - Doosan Enerbility will supply the nuclear reactors, steam generators and turbine generators for the two APR1400 units.

“Since our government took office, KRW8.7 trillion worth of work has been ordered for nuclear power plants,” Yoon said. “In addition to the construction of Shin Hanul units 3 and 4, the ongoing construction of Saeul units 3 and 4, the continued operation of existing nuclear power plants, and overseas nuclear power plant orders, many orders have been placed.”

He added: “As of the first half of this year, orders for Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 have exceeded KRW1 trillion, and once construction begins in earnest, more work will pour in, greatly revitalising the local economy.” A total of KRW8.13 trillion worth of work is expected to be ordered for the project by 2033, Yoon noted.

“We are now in the midst of a nuclear renaissance,” the president said. “As countries around the world rush to build nuclear power plants, a global nuclear power market worth KRW1 trillion is opening up. Using the Czech nuclear power plant order as a springboard, I and the government will further open the export path for our nuclear power industry.”

Yoon said the government will prepare a mid to long-term nuclear power roadmap for 2050 within the year and present a vision and comprehensive plan for the nuclear power industry. It will also aim to enact a special law on supporting the nuclear power industry.