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Viewing cable 06SEOUL1396, SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: STATUS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06SEOUL1396 2006-04-26 08:01 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Seoul
VZCZCXYZ0017
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #1396/01 1160801
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260801Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7546
INFO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC 1421
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0549
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1492
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0629
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0168
UNCLAS SEOUL 001396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR ISN - SEMMEL 
DEPT ALSO FOR ISN/NESS, EAP/K 
WHITEHOUSE FOR OSTP 
USDOC FOR 4440/IEP/EAP/OPB/WGOLIKE 
USDOC ALSO FOR ITA/TA 
USDOC ALSO NIST FOR SCARPENTER 
USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL - R.PRICE 
DEPT PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS 
PARIS FOR USOECD/ENERGY ADVISOR 
USMISSION VIENNA FOR IAEA DEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TRGY ENRG KNNP KSCA SENV KS
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: STATUS 
AND PROSPECTS 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  This year marks the 50th anniversary of U.S.-Korea 
cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy, 
begun with the signing in 1956 of the bilateral 
Agreement for Cooperation on Civil Uses of Nuclear 
Energy.  This fact will be commemorated during the 27th 
meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear 
Energy Cooperation (JSCNEC) on May 1-4. 
 
2.  Korea's first commercial nuclear power reactor went 
into operation only in 1978, but in the intervening 28 
years, Korea has risen to become the world's sixth- 
largest producer of nuclear power, with more than 40 
percent of its electricity being supplied by 20 nuclear 
power plants.  Korea is one of the few countries in the 
world committed to substantial nuclear power 
development in this decade, and plans to build eight 
new power plants over the next 10 years.  This 
construction activity will ensure than Korean companies 
such as Doosan Heavy Industries are well-positioned to 
prosper if the global nuclear market sees a resurgence 
in coming years. 
 
3.  Despite its successes, Korea's nuclear energy 
program faces continuing challenges, including finding 
a solution to the problem of high-level radioactive 
waste disposal and public resistance.  This message 
provides an overview of the status and prospects of the 
Korean nuclear power sector.  End Summary. 
 
FORUM LOOKS AT NUCLEAR POWER SECTOR 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  The Korea Atomic Industrial Forum (KAIF) and the 
Korea Nuclear Society (KNS) hosted their 21st joint 
Annual Conference in Seoul April 20-21.  The theme was 
"Sustainable Development of Nuclear Energy: Current 
Issues and Challenges."  The conference drew more than 
400 atomic energy specialists and scientists from South 
Korea and 100 from abroad, including the United States, 
Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Vietnam. 
 
5.  In his keynote address, Korea Hydro and Nuclear 
Power Company (KHNP) President Lee Joong-jae reviewed 
the "Current Status and Future Prospects of Nuclear 
Industry in South Korea."  He cautiously opined that a 
global nuclear renaissance is coming, prompted by 
concern over global warming and by the rising price of 
oil. 
 
6.  Lee stated that the Korean nuclear industry, like 
those of other advanced nuclear countries, still faces 
significant challenges, including NGO opposition to 
expanding nuclear power, concerns about safety and 
security issues, public opposition to the siting of 
nuclear facilities, and the cost of nuclear power 
relative to other energy sources. 
 
NUCLEAR POWER OPERATION AND PERFORMANCE 
--------------------------------------- 
 
7.  Korea's nuclear program began modestly, with 
groundbreaking in 1959 for the construction of a TRIGA 
Mark II research reactor partially funded by the U.S. 
Atomic Energy Commission.  Since the first nuclear 
power plant was inaugurated in 1978 at Kori, the Korea 
Hydro and Nuclear Power Company (spun off in 2001 from 
the Korea Electric Power Corporation) has achieved a 
steady growth in nuclear power production.  At present, 
South Korea has 20 operating nuclear power plants 
throughout the country.  It also has four plants under 
construction, two units each at the Shin-Kori and Shin- 
 
Wolsong plant sites.  The four new plants will be an 
upgraded version of the 1,000 MWe pressurized water 
reactors already in service. 
 
8.  Table 1 below outlines the status of electric power 
generated in Korea by energy source.  Power generation 
from nuclear reactors in 2005 reached 146,779 gigawatt 
hours (GWh), with a total installed capacity of 17,716 
MWe.  The 20 operating nuclear plants account for 28.5 
percent of the nation's total electric generating 
capacity, but actually produce more than 40 percent of 
Korea's total electricity output.  At present, South 
Korea is the world's sixth-largest producer of nuclear 
power. 
 
Table 1: Status of Electric Power by Energy Source 
                                As of yearend 2005 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Energy Source       Installed          Electricity 
                    Capacity (MWe)     Generation (GWh) 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Nuclear           17,716 (28.5 pct)  146,779 (40.3 pct) 
Coal              17,965 (28.9 pct)  133,657 (36.6 pct) 
Gas               16,552 (26.6 pct)   58,250 (16.0 pct) 
Oil                4,605  (7.4 pct)   17,883  (4.8 pct) 
Hydro              3,885  (6.2 pct)    5,153  (1.4 pct) 
Others             1,537  (2.5 pct)    3,349  (0.9 pct) 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Total             62,260  (100 pct)  364,571  (100 pct) 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
9.  One of KHNP's notable achievements has been to 
improve the performance of its nuclear power plants. 
For example, in 2005 the average capacity factor of 
Korean nuclear power plants was 95.5 percent, compared 
to the world average of 79.3 percent.  According to a 
recent edition of "Nucleonics Week," Kori reactor unit 
4 ranked first place in capacity utilization in 2005, 
followed by Yonggwang unit 1 and 3, Ulchin unit 1, and 
Wolsong unit 3.  These five Korean plants topped the 
list of the world's 50 best plants in terms of capacity 
factors. 
 
10.  KHNP also achieved remarkable progress in reducing 
the average unplanned plant shutdown rate over the 
previous ten years, from 1.1 cases in 1995 to 0.5 cases 
in 2005. 
 
11.  Korea's nuclear power plants (NPPs) are of roughly 
four different designs, depending upon the supplier of 
the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS).  The first four 
Kori NPPs and the four Yonggwang NPPs are pressurized 
light water reactors (PWRs) based on the technology of 
the U.S.-based company Westinghouse.  The first two 
Ulchin plants are PWRs with the NSSS components 
supplied by the French firm Framatome (now Areva).  All 
of the four Wolsong NPPs are Canada Deuterium Uranium 
pressurized heavy water reactors (CANDU-PHWRs) based on 
upon technology of the Canadian company AECL.  The 
remaining plants are PWRs, called the Korean Standard 
Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP), based on technology of U.S.- 
based Combustion Engineering (later bought by 
Westinghouse). 
 
12.  Table 2 shows the current status of nuclear power 
plants at each site, with the number of operating 
reactors and their installed capacity in parentheses. 
 
Table 2: Status of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) 
            (Unit: Megawatts) 
--------------------------- 
Reactor Site   In Operation 
--------------------------- 
Kori             4 (3,137) 
 
Wolsong          4 (2,739) 
Yonggwang        6 (5,900) 
Ulchin           6 (5,900) 
---------------------------- 
Total           20 (17,716) 
---------------------------- 
 
NUCLEAR POWER CONSTRUCTION AND PLANNING 
--------------------------------------- 
 
13.  As shown in Table 3 below, Korea has plans to 
build eight new nuclear power plants (NPPs) over the 
next 10 years.  Of the planned eight reactors, KHNP has 
already obtained construction permits for Shin-Kori 1&2 
and Shin-Wolsong 1&2 (Shin means new -- the sites are 
adjacent to the existing Kori and Wolsong sites).  All 
of the four reactor types are 1,000-MWe PWRs. 
 
14.  Groundbreaking for construction of Shin-Kori 1 and 
2 was held in October 2005, and they are scheduled for 
completion in 2010 and 2011, respectively. 
Groundbreaking for Shin-Wolsong 1 and 2 will occur in 
July this year, aiming at commercial operation in 2011 
and 2012, respectively. 
 
15.  The remaining four advanced light water reactors 
(1,400 MWe-class ALWRs, also called the APR1400), are 
still on the drawing table, but are projected to be 
built at Shin-Kori and Shin-Ulchin (two units at each 
site) by 2014 and 2016, respectively.  KHNP expects to 
have the main contract concluded within this year. 
 
Table 3: NPPs under Construction and Planned 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Project       Reactor    Capacity    Plant   Commercial 
              Type        (MW)       Type    Operation 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Shin-  No.1   PWR       1,000      OPR1000       2010 
Kori      2   PWR       1,000      OPR1000       2011 
          3   ALWR      1,400      APR1400       2013 
          4   ALWR      1,400      APR1400       2014 
 
Shin-     1   PWR       1,000      OPR1000       2011 
Wolsong   2   PWR       1,000      OPR1000       2012 
 
Shin-     5   ALWR      1,400      APR1400       2015 
Ulchin    6   ALWR      1,400      APR1400       2016 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Note: PWR: Pressurized Water Reactor 
      ALWR: Advanced Light Water Reactor 
     OPR: Optimized Power Reactor 
     APR: Advanced Power Reactor 
 
RADIOACTIVE WASTE REPOSITORY CONSTRUCTION 
----------------------------------------- 
 
16.  After 19 years of stymied efforts, the Korean 
government finally selected a site for the nation's 
first centralized radioactive waste repository (for low 
and intermediate-level nuclear waste only) in March 
2005.  The choice was confirmed by a referendum among 
local residents, despite opposition by anti-nuclear 
activists, after promises of large-scale development 
funding for the winning jurisdiction. 
 
17.  KHNP, responsible for managing the nation's 
radioactive waste, will build the facility on two 
million square meters located in Gyeongju, near the 
Shin-Wolsong site.  In the initial stage, a 100,000- 
drum capacity facility is to be completed by the end of 
2009.  It will eventually be expanded to store 800,000 
drums of radioactive waste. 
 
CONTINUING INVESTMENT IN R&D 
 
---------------------------- 
 
18.  Lee asserted that Korea will continue to increase 
its R&D spending on priority projects such as the 
system-integrated modular advanced reactor (SMART) 
program, development of the next-generation nuclear 
power reactor (working with international partners in 
the Generation IV Nuclear Forum), and hydrogen 
production using nuclear energy.  The SMART reactor, 
designed for both electricity generation and seawater 
desalination, is expected to be commercialized from 
2009, if everything goes as planned. 
 
LOOKING FOR OVERSEAS MARKETS 
---------------------------- 
 
19.  As a company with substantial experience in 
building and operating nuclear power plants, Lee said, 
KHNP is willing to cooperate with other countries in 
training foreign specialists.  KHNP also hopes to 
advance into niche markets overseas in nuclear power 
operation and maintenance. 
 
CLEAN ENERGY, BUT CHALLENGES STILL TO BE OVERCOME 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
20.  Lee underlined the clean nature of nuclear power, 
asserting that a 1,000 MW capacity nuclear power unit 
produces 7.5 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide each 
year than a thermal power plant using coal.  In 2005, 
nuclear generation in Korea reached about 147 billion 
kilowatts hour (KWh).  If this much energy had been 
generated with coal, 140 million tons of additional 
carbon dioxide would have been emitted, Lee said. 
 
21.  Nonetheless, Lee stated that Korea, like other 
advanced nuclear countries, faces a variety of 
challenges, including NGO opposition to expanding 
nuclear power, issues of safety and security, local 
opposition to the siting of nuclear facilities, 
competition from other energy sources, and the 
development of nuclear scientists and specialists. 
 
ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
22.  In an attempt to generate a stronger social 
consensus, the Korean government plans to launch a new 
high-level policymaking body, to be dubbed the State 
Energy Commission, in September 2006.  The State Energy 
Commission, chaired by the President and including 
various Cabinet ministers among its 25 members, will be 
charged with formulating a 20-year basic energy plan 
aimed at promoting stable energy supplies.  One of the 
issues it will address is the treatment of high-level 
radioactive waste, left out of the Gyeongju plan in 
order to assure public acceptance.  The formation of 
the commission is linked to the implementation of the 
Basic Act on Energy that will take effect in September 
this year. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
23.  If Lee's cautious prediction of a global nuclear 
renaissance proves correct, Korea will be well-placed 
to benefit.  The steady construction of new plants in 
Korea has given Korean manufacturers such as Doosan 
Heavy Industries a depth of current expertise and 
manufacturing capacity that is matched in few other 
places around the world.  End Comment. 
 
VERSHBOW