Korean Nuclear Society: "Claims of Non-Economic Nuclear Power Are Statistical Distortion... Ignoring Power Realities in the AI Era"

Civic Groups' Report Openly Refuted... "Economic Viability Should Be Measured Using LCOE"

"Investment in SMRs and Nuclear R&D Is Aimed at Securing Future Competitiveness"

The Korean Nuclear Society has directly refuted a recently published report by certain civic groups titled “An Empirical Study of the Non-Economic Nature of Korea’s Pro-Nuclear Policy,” claiming that it is a “distorted statistical interpretation of the nuclear energy budget and its economic viability.”

In a statement released on July 22, the society stated, “As the stable supply of electricity becomes essential for national competitiveness due to the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced industries, assertions that are inconsistent with the facts are muddying the discussion on energy policy.”

UAE Barakah Nuclear Power Plant Units 1-4 constructed by Hyundai Engineering & Construction. The Asia Business Daily DB

The society explained that while civic groups have highlighted only the increase in the nuclear energy budget from 473.4 billion won in 2007 to 1.4582 trillion won this year, total government spending during the same period has also more than tripled, so the proportion of the nuclear budget has remained at about 0.2% for nearly 20 years. Furthermore, they argued that if support for renewable energy—including both the government budget and the mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) costs borne through electricity rates—is included, the amount of support for renewables actually exceeds that for nuclear energy.

"The Economic Viability of Nuclear Power Should Be Measured by Generation Cost, Not R&D Spending"

The society asserted that it is inappropriate to assess the economic viability of nuclear power based on government research and development (R&D) budgets.

According to international standards, economic viability should be evaluated using the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), which factors in construction, fuel, operations, decommissioning, and spent nuclear fuel management costs. The recent expansion in nuclear R&D is also an investment aimed at securing next-generation technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and accident-tolerant fuel, they explained.

Trends in Government Budget for Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy. This compares only government expenditure budgets (based on National Assembly approval), excluding support through electricity charges such as RPS settlement payments. [Source: Open Fiscal Data]

They further countered that the “negative learning effect” concept presented by the civic groups is simply a direct application of U.S. and French cases to Korea. The society contended that Korea is actually a textbook case of a “positive learning effect,” having reduced both costs and construction periods through repeated builds of the same reactor type—a trend exemplified by the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

Additionally, the society assessed that the nuclear budget increased during the nuclear phase-out period due to R&D support aimed at maintaining the nuclear industry ecosystem. They emphasized that this was not due to the non-economic nature of nuclear power, but rather reflected social costs stemming from policy changes.

The society stressed, "To respond to the rapidly growing electricity demand in the AI era, energy policy must be based on objective data and scientific analysis rather than ideology," and added, "The economic viability of both nuclear and renewable energy sources should be compared using the same standards."

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