President Moon Jae-in has certainly proven
that he delivers on his campaign pledges.
One of them is ushering in a nuke-free era.
As part of the follow-through, construction
of 2 new reactors have been temporarily halted.
But not everyone's on the same page when it
comes to phasing out nuclear power.
Kim Mok-yeon zooms in on both sides of the
ongoing debate.
Less than three months ago, President Moon
Jae-in announced his decision to re-evaluate
the nation's nuclear power policy.
(KOREAN)
" . 5, 6 , , ."
"We will move towards a nuclear-free era.
With regards to Shin Kori 5 and 6, the government
will comprehensively take into consideration
safety, the progress rate, input costs, costs
concerning the contract termination and the
electric power reserve ratio and create a
social consensus within a short period of
time."
Following the government's decision to temporarily
halt the construction of the Shin Kori 5 and
6 nuclear reactors in the country's southeast,
public debate has been high on the issue.
(KOREAN ed: steve)
"The nuclear reactors in Korea are the best
in the world in terms of safety.
The new Shin Kori 5 and 6 reactors have already
had their safety approved by the United States.
During Korea's 40 years of nuclear power operations,
nobody has died."
(ENGLISH)
"We believe nuclear power plant is inherently
dangerous as it was proven in Simao, Chernobyl
and recently Fukushima.
And we believe now the world has enough alternative
ways to produce electricity in a much safer
and cleaner way so it's time to gradually
phase out nuclear."
With polarized opinions regarding nuclear
power, the government launched a special committee
in July to gather the public's voices regarding
this issue.
(KOREAN ed: steve)
"So what we are doing is basically publicizing
the issue, We gather the opinions of the public,
give them the opportunity to study the facts
on both sides, and allow them to engage in
debates to come up with a clear decision.
Their final decisions will be submitted to
the government."
[STAND UP] ed: steve
"The special committee has held its first
opinion poll, calling nearly 40,000 citizens
aged 19 and above.
A total of 500 citizen representatives have
been chosen to take part in making the final
decision on whether to resume or stop the
construction of the Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear
reactors in Ulsan."
The head of the committee says that for the
past two months, the public's concerns on
nuclear power range from environmental issues
to economical problems.
(KOREAN ed: steve)
"Many industries were able to develop in Korea
because of its cheap energy from nuclear reactors.
If energy prices go up, it will definitely
affect the economy."
(ENGLISH)
"In the last 5-10 years, the cost to produce
electricity through renewables has been decreasing.
Whereas the cost for producing electricity
through nuclear has been increasing."
The committee is now in the process of gathering
data comprehensively before reaching a conclusion.
(KOREAN ed: steve)
"We are creating a list of facts that back
the assertions of both sides.
We are also going through a fact checking
process to verify their objectivity."
With the public differing in their opinions
regarding this issue, the committee aims at
smoothing the differences and providing an
objective report.
(KOREAN ed: steve)
"We are trying to come up with countermeasures
to lessen factors that could bring about more
conflict.
We ultimately aim for the two sides to narrow
down their differences."
The committee is expected to disband on October
21st, a day after it submits its final recommendation
to the government which could determine the
fate of the two nuclear reactors.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.
