'Public Acceptance' Was the Deciding Factor... Why Yeongdeok and Gijang Embraced Nuclear Power

Yeongdeok Scores 91.01 Points, Gijang 87.11 Points
Superior in Public Acceptance and Site Suitability

The selection of Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang Province and Gijang in Busan as the final candidates for new nuclear power plant sites was primarily due to high levels of community acceptance. Although the evaluation committee assessed four areas—site suitability, environmental impact, construction feasibility, and community acceptance—with equal weighting (25 points each), analysis of the actual results indicates that public opinion and the willingness of local communities to accept nuclear power ultimately determined the outcome.

According to the site selection evaluation committee’s criteria, the community acceptance category included factors such as the approval rate of local councils, public opinion surveys, contributions to balanced regional development, and local government support plans. In particular, the public opinion survey was allocated a total of 13 points, the highest among all subcategories. Of these, 8 points were awarded for surveys of residents living within 5 kilometers of the nuclear plant, and 5 points for those living outside the 5-kilometer radius. This reflects the government’s decision to make social acceptance a core evaluation factor, in light of past experiences where new nuclear projects were frequently scrapped due to local opposition.

The scoring differences were also clear in the results. Yeongdeok County scored 23.74 points in the community acceptance category, significantly ahead of Ulju County’s 19.63 points. More than half of the total score gap of 8.38 points was attributed to community acceptance. Yeongdeok also received higher scores than Ulju County in site suitability (23.20 points) and environmental impact (21.80 points), effectively securing an advantage across all areas.

Yeongdeok also has a long-standing relationship with nuclear power. During the Park Geun-hye administration, it was designated as the planned site for the Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant. Even after the project was halted, local calls for attracting a nuclear power plant continued. The local community has held significant expectations for population inflow and regional economic revitalization resulting from nuclear plant construction. This sentiment appears to have been reflected in the public opinion survey results for the latest evaluation.

Community acceptance was also critical in the small modular reactor (SMR) category. Gijang County scored 21.91 points in community acceptance, surpassing Gyeongju City’s 20.03 points. Gijang also received a higher site suitability score—21.60 points compared to Gyeongju’s 19.80 points. While Gyeongju scored higher in construction feasibility, it was not enough to overturn the final rankings.

The fact that Gijang County is home to the Kori Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear complex in Korea, also played a decisive role. With extensive operational experience and established infrastructure such as transmission networks and support facilities, the burden of launching a new project is relatively low. The level of public understanding of nuclear power is also considered higher in Gijang than in other regions.

As the surge in electricity demand driven by AI data centers and advanced industries increases the need for new nuclear power plants, community consent is expected to remain the most critical variable in discussions over additional sites going forward.

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