Yeongdeok and Gijang Win in New Nuclear Power Site Selection Competition (Comprehensive)

Yeongdeok Selected for Large-Scale Reactors, Gijang for SMR
"Detailed Site Surveys and Licensing Procedures to Follow"

Yeongdeok County in North Gyeongsang Province and Gijang County in Busan have been finally selected as candidate sites for new nuclear power plant construction. Two large-scale nuclear power plants will be built in Yeongdeok, while one Small Modular Reactor (SMR) will be constructed in Gijang. With the completion of the site selection phase for the new nuclear power plant project included in the 11th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand, the project is now entering a full-scale implementation stage.

The New Nuclear Power Plant Site Selection Evaluation Committee announced on June 17 that Yeongdeok County has been chosen as the final candidate site for the large-scale nuclear power plant section, and Gijang County for the SMR section, based on the results of its evaluations.

This project is being pursued in accordance with the 11th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand, finalized last year. The government decided to construct two new large-scale nuclear power plants (2.8GW) and one SMR demonstration reactor (0.7GW). Accordingly, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) began the site selection process last year, and an evaluation committee comprising external experts in policy and humanities, environment, nuclear power, geology, and seismology has been reviewing candidate sites.

In the public contest for hosting sites that began in January this year, Ulju County in Ulsan and Yeongdeok County in North Gyeongsang Province applied for the large-scale nuclear power plant section, while Gyeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province and Gijang County in Busan competed for the SMR section. After conducting basic site and environmental surveys, on-site inspections, and resident opinion polls over the course of two months, the evaluation committee conducted a comprehensive assessment.

According to the evaluation results, Yeongdeok County received a total score of 91.01, significantly outpacing Ulju County, which scored 82.63. In the SMR section, Gijang County scored 87.11, surpassing Gyeongju City, which received 84.56.

Notably, the target area in Yeongdeok includes Seok-ri and Nomul-ri in Yeongdeok-eup, as well as Gyeongjeong-ri in Chuksan-myeon, which were previously designated for the Cheonji nuclear power plant. In Gijang, the candidate site was selected in Jang-an-eup near the Kori Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear cluster in Korea, receiving high marks for its ability to utilize existing nuclear infrastructure.

The evaluation committee explained, "Stable electricity supply is essential for national competitiveness and for future generations," adding, "We selected the optimal site by considering the need to secure base-load power to support the industrial ecosystem and promote regional coexistence."

The government and KHNP plan to conduct detailed site investigations and permitting procedures for the selected candidate sites. Once construction of the new nuclear power plants begins in earnest, they are expected to serve as key power sources to meet the increasing electricity demand driven by the expansion of AI data centers and advanced industries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.