South Korea will be looking at the economic side in determining whether to extend the operation of one of its aged nuclear reactors, the head of the state-run reactor operator said.
While meeting with reporters here on Monday, Cho Seok, chief of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said the safety of the Kori 1 reactor can easily be ensured.
“The safety issue can be taken care of through repairs and reinforcements. Safety can be ensured, but the real issue is whether it will be economically viable,” he said.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on Feb. 27 had approved a 10-year life span extension of Wolsong 1, the country’s second-oldest reactor, after three rounds of drawn-out deliberations and heated debates largely over its safety.
The life span of the 580-megawatt Kori 1 reactor, located some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was extended by 10 years when its initial 30-year life span expired on June 18, 2007.
The KHNP is required to submit a request for operational extension at least two years before the expiration.
Cho said that operating the 38-year-old reactor for another 10 years may cost more than it can benefit the country.
The expenses for running it for another decade will include costs for repairs and reinforcements, and also a large amount of financial support for residents around the reactor and the regional government, he said.
Following the first life span extension of the Kori 1 reactor in 2007, the KHNP had to provide nearly 200 billion won ($177 million) in financial support for the local residents and the government. The amount accounts for more than 13 percent of the KHNP’s annual profit of some 1.5 trillion won in 2014.
The KHNP earlier said it had spent about 650 billion won to keep Wolsong 1 in maintenance. The cost will be lower for the Kori 1 reactor as refurbishments from the first extension in 2007 are still valid, Cho said.
“We can simply decide to continue operating the reactor if we find that the benefits from operating the reactor for another 10 years will outrun the cost. But for the entire country, the government may decide that building a new reactor to supply the equal amount of electricity will be more economically sound,” he said. (Yonhap)
