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South Korea Conducts First Joint Radiation Emergency Exercise Involving Two Nuclear Power Plants Simultaneously

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) of South Korea announced on September 10 that South Korea held the 2026 National Joint Radiation Disaster Prevention Exercise, simulating a radioactive material release accident at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and the simultaneous entry into a radiation emergency state at the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang Province. Approximately 2,000 people participated in the exercise, including relevant South Korean central government departments, local governments, specialized agencies, relevant operating organizations, local organizations, and nearby residents. This exercise set up a compound disaster scenario of simultaneous radiation emergencies at multiple nuclear power plants for the first time. The exercise assumed that...

2026-09-12

Cause Identified for Automatic Shutdown of Unit 3 at Shin-Kori Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) of South Korea reported on the 4th that it has completed its investigation into the automatic shutdown of Unit 3 at the Shin-Kori nuclear power plant during commissioning tests on the 11th of last month, and has approved the resumption of commissioning tests for the unit. The investigation confirmed that the direct cause of the incident was an operator error in inputting parameters during the process of restoring reactor power after the tests. According to the investigation findings, at the time of the incident, while setting the parameters for the turbine control valve position limiter, the operator mistakenly entered a value intended to limit the upper opening limit of the valve as a value in the valve closing direction. This limiter is used to prevent a rapid increase in the amount of steam entering the turbine for power generation within a short period. After the parameter error, the unit experienced an interruption in power output at approximately 80% power level, followed by an automatic shutdown.

2026-09-04

South Korea Approves Restart of Shin-Kori Unit 1

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) of South Korea announced on August 21 that it has approved the restart of Shin-Kori Unit 1, located in Ulju County, Ulsan. The unit has been under routine inspection since July 2. On the same day, the commission approved the unit to reach criticality. Criticality refers to the state in which a sustained nuclear fission chain reaction can be maintained within the reactor core, with a balanced neutron population. Once criticality is achieved, the reactor can gradually resume operation under safely controlled conditions. The NSSC stated that this routine inspection involved 98 inspection items required before the reactor could reach criticality, of which 86 have been completed, confirming that the unit meets the conditions for safely achieving criticality.

2026-08-22

South Korea's Two Ministries Sign MOU to Promote Regulatory Cooperation for Nuclear Power Exports

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) signed a memorandum of understanding on the successful overseas expansion of Korean-style nuclear power plants at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul on August 13, planning to strengthen regulatory coordination in the nuclear power export process and provide more systematic nuclear safety regulatory cooperation support to countries hosting potential projects. Under the agreement, the two sides will jointly support export target countries in establishing nuclear safety regulatory frameworks, improving licensing procedures and technical standards, and enhancing the professional capabilities of regulatory bodies, based on the regulatory cooperation needs raised by these countries. The South Korean government is promoting nuclear power plant exports with a focus on potential markets in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, and the relevant countries are in the process of planning and...

2026-08-13