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The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) decided to put on the table a motion to extend the lifespan of Wolseong No. 1, an aging nuclear reactor, during its first meeting of 2015. As a result, the expectation is that a fierce debate will ensue about whether this will be the first year that South Korea decommissions a nuclear power plant.

Despite analysts who say that reactivating the aging reactor is a losing proposition, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), the state company that operates South Korea’s nuclear reactors, and the South Korean government are pushing to restart it.

Critics suggest that, with the question of shuttering the aging reactors right around the corner, the government intends to put off decommissioning the reactor to avoid the political cost.

The NSSC announced on Jan. 13 that it had decided to bring up the question of allowing Wolseong reactor No. 1 to resume operations during the regular meeting on Jan. 15. The designed life span of Kori reactor No. 1, Korea’s first nuclear reactor, was 30 years, but when that expired in 2007, its operational limit was extended by 10 years. Wolseong reactor No. 1 is the second reactor to reach the end of its life span.

Since Kori reactor No. 1’s first operational extension will conclude in 2017, under the current laws, the nuclear operator must decide whether to apply for a second extension or to move toward ultimately decommissioning the reactor by June of this year. There is sure to be a fierce debate about whether this year will mark the beginning of decommissioning nuclear reactors in South Korea.

The NSSC, which is a vice minister-level government commission, is composed of two permanent members, including the chair of the commission, and seven non-permanent members. It is these members who will decide the motion brought before the commission either through consensus or through a vote. If a motion is brought to a vote, it can only pass if a majority, or five of the nine members of the commission, votes in favor.

“Because of the political risk of the motion to restart Wolseong reactor No. 1, the chair of the commission will attempt to reach consensus before calling a vote, but because of the sharp divide in opinion, this will not be easy,” one member of the commission said.

Indeed, when Wolseong reactor No. 1 is viewed by itself, there are few economic reasons to reactivate the reactor.

Last year, the National Assembly Budget Office released a financial analysis projecting that Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) would lose between 250 billion won (US$231.78 million) and 500 billion won (US$463.57 million) if it operated Wolseong reactor No. 1 for eight more years, depending on how much electricity prices went up.

Since two years and two months have passed since Wolseong reactor No. 1 ceased operations after its life span expired, it would not be able to run for the full eight years even if it was restarted immediately.

The analysis excluded from its calculations the 500 billion won that KHNP poured into improving the facilities between 2009 and 2011 - before its lifespan expired - regarding this as a sunk cost. As such, the implication is that restarting the reactor would not be economically feasible.

Furthermore, Wolsong reactor No. 1 is heavy-water, which costs more to generate electricity than other kinds of nuclear reactors, and it also produces a large number of highly radioactive - and toxic - spent fuel rods.

But an official at KHNP offered a different perspective on these figures. “Decommissioning Wolseong reactor No. 1 and shutting it down for good will still cost us 645.5 billion won, so restarting the reactor saves more money comparatively speaking.” It’s true that the facility capacity at Wolseong reactor No. 1 represents less than 1% of South Korea‘s total power generation. Even so, if we don’t reactivate the reactor and replace cheap nuclear power with LNG or other kinds of power, it could cost the country as much as 3 trillion won (US$2.7 billion) more.

Both KHNP, which operates South Korea‘s nuclear plants, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, which oversees energy generation policy, have already indicated on several occasions, both directly and indirectly, that they mean to push for restarting the reactor.

“Considering the disadvantages of heavy-water reactors, including the issue of processing the spent fuel rods, which play into the bigger picture of nuclear power policy, the government should also consider the option of decommissioning Wolseong No. 1 without extending its lifespan,” another NSSC member said.

“If the government allows this reactor to be decommissioned, it would likely face major opposition from the public and anti-nuclear activists each time it has to decide whether to extend the life of Korea’s other nuclear reactors,” the member added.

Currently, a report by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) reviewing the proposal to extend operations at the reactor - a necessary condition in the commission’s deliberation and decision-making process - has concluded that there are no major safety concerns with restarting the reactor. However, the opinions of the KINS and a team of civilian inspectors about the results of the stress test diverged wildly, which is likely to become the focus of upcoming debate.

The stress test is an additional review protocol that President Park Geun-hye pledged to implement while she was running for president, following the Japanese nuclear accident at Fukushima.

“When it comes to decommissioning nuclear reactors, our experience, our workforce, and our systems are all very limited. Deciding to decommission Wolseong reactor No. 1 could show us a new way forward. The question of shutting down the various older reactors that will be reaching the end of their life span is a grave issue related to public safety and survival. Vesting the entire authority for this decision in the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, a vice minister-level commission, is a problem in and of itself,” said Yang Lee Won-yeong, secretary general of Friends of the Earth Korea.

By Jung Se-ra, staff reporter

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