nuclear-news

Around $400 billion is riding on South Korea’s ability to sell its technology to potential clients as it aims to take on the United States, France and Russia and grab a 20 percent share of the nuclear energy market……

A survey commissioned by the Economics Ministry and published in November showed only 35 percent of South Koreans considered nuclear power to be safe — sharply down from 71 percent in January 2010.

“You are never free from worry as long as your country depends heavily on nuclear energy,” said Yangyi Won Young, head of Nuclear-Free Korea, a coalition of civic groups. “Our nuclear power plants are vulnerable to natural disasters because of lax safety regulations which have been applied to construction, operation and parts.”….

The South has been criticized in the past for a lack of transparency in the nuclear sector — largely attributed to the regulatory bodies’ mixed supervisory and promotional functions, roles Japan’s former nuclear regulatory body also played prior to the Fukushima disaster.

President Park Geun Hye, who took office this week, looks set to further muddy the waters with her proposal for the nominally independent Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

The new president wants to affiliate the commission with a newly created superministry in charge of policies on science research, information communication technology and atomic energy development.

Scientists, environmentalists and a number of politicians — including some from Park’s ruling party — say the move would undermine the watchdog’s independence and weaken its safety management authority.

“The Republic of Korea is going to be the only country across the globe where regulators and basically developers or promoters might be working all together under the same roof,” said Suh Kune Yull, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University. “A conflict of interest is inevitable.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/02/28/asia-pacific/safety-concerns-cloud-south-korea-nuclear-drive/#.US-35qLijl8