Nuclear Power Deliberation Agenda Finalized... Public Asked, "What Kind of Electricity Will We Live With?"

"The Role and Share of Nuclear Power" Set as Subtopic for Preparing for Future Electricity Demand

To Be Reflected in the 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand After Citizen Panel Deliberations

Continued Operation, Nuclear Plants with Finalized Sites, Renewable Energy Targets, and Siting Excluded

Yonhap News Agency

A public deliberation process to determine the role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand is getting underway in earnest. The main topic has been set as "What kind of electricity will we live with in the future?"

The Public Deliberation Committee on Nuclear Power for the Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand said on October 15 that it had held its second meeting on October 14 at the Electricity Infrastructure Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where it discussed the deliberation agenda and plans for designing the deliberation process for the citizen panel.

The committee set the main topic as "What kind of electricity will we live with in the future?" and finalized the subtopic as "The role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand." With electricity demand expected to rise due to the expansion of AI data centers and the semiconductor industry, the committee plans to discuss with the public how much of a role nuclear power should play in the future.

However, the deliberation will exclude four matters from discussion: whether to extend the operation of individual nuclear power plants, nuclear power projects for which sites have already been finalized, the government's announced renewable energy deployment targets, and the selection of sites in specific regions. The aim is to focus the discussion on the role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand.

At the meeting, the committee also gave final approval to its operating rules, which had been discussed at its first meeting on October 7. The rules set out basic operating matters, including the committee's purpose, functions, composition and duties, as well as principles to be observed during the deliberation process.

Under the rules, the citizen panel will comprise about 300 people. Members will be selected through stratified random sampling that takes into account region, gender and age, so that a range of public opinions can be reflected. After completing preliminary study using a deliberation guidebook and online learning materials, participants will take part in three days and two nights of deliberative discussions. At the meeting, the committee also approved a plan for a citizen-participation survey that includes these details.

A separate expert committee will also be formed to ensure the objectivity and expertise of materials used in the deliberation process. It will comprise up to 10 experts in the fields of the environment, nuclear power and neutrality, and will prepare a deliberation guidebook and online videos for the citizen panel.

The expert committee will also research and analyze domestic and international cases and verify the facts and sources included in the learning materials. The committee plans to finalize the expert committee's membership after receiving expert recommendations from environmental and nuclear power-related organizations by its next meeting.

Eun Jaeho, chair of the Public Deliberation Committee on Nuclear Power, said, "This public deliberation is a process of finding, together with the public, the role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand. I hope it will be a starting point for moving the nuclear power issue beyond partisan and ideological frameworks."

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