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Ulsan Citizens’ Joint Action for the Abandonment of Nuclear Power holds a press conference opposing plans to construct reactors 5 and 6 at Shingori Nuclear Power Plant complex

An organization of 36 Ulsan-area civic and social groups held an emergency press conference at the Ulsan City Hall press center on June 24 to denounce the approval of construction for fifth and sixth reactors at the Singori Nuclear Power Plant by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) the evening before.

The organization, called Ulsan Citizens’ Joint Action for the Abandonment of Nuclear Power, specifically singled out by name the seven of nine NSSC members who voted in favor of the plan. The groups said they are the seven enemies who are driving the people of South Korea toward nuclear disaster, and that the groups want history to remember their names.

Eight reactors already occupy the planned sites in the Seosaeng township area of Ulsan’s Ulju County and the township of Jangan in Busan’s Gijang County, with four each at the Gori and Singori Nuclear Power Plant complexes. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) currently has plans to finish work on the fifth and sixth Singori reactors in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Once they are completed, South Korea will have a total of 30 reactors - a third of them located in that one region.

“KHNP began construction before NSSC approval had even come, and the NSSC raced to finalize a decision that was not urgent, even though a number of problems remain unresolved - including assessments of the safety of multiple reactors, regulations limiting location in heavily populated regions, and issues with active fault zones,” the organization said.

“All this shows is the cozy relationship between the NSSC and KHNP,” added the organization before calling for an investigation by prosecutors.

The organization also demanded that Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon conduct a referendum on the issue.

“The decision to build nuclear power plants is invalid without the consent of citizens,” it said.

The group Joint Action for a Nuclear-Free Society also held a press conference in front of the NSSC offices in Seoul to declare the construction approval null and void, noting that it was “passed with over half the committee members a month away from the end of their term.”

The Busan Citizens’ Alliance Against Nuclear Power held its own press conference in front of Busan City Hall to urge “institutional guarantees on citizen participation and decision-making for the building of nuclear power plants.”

Kim Young-choon, a lawmaker with the Minjoo Party of Korea and representative of the group Lawmakers for the Abandonment of Nuclear Energy, also criticized the decision in an appearance on the CBS radio network program “Kim Hyeon-jeong’s News Show” on June 24.

“During the Fukushima disaster [in Japan], they had to evacuate 160,000 people within a radius of 30 km and 50 km. Where are we supposed to evacuate the 3.5 million people who live in a 30-km radius of the Shingori nuclear complex, or the 5 million people in a 50-km radius?” Kim asked.

“With sustained low-growth conditions in the economic growth rate, there are ample predictions that a stable supply of electric power could be provided without building any nuclear reactors,” Kim continued.

“I intend to address the issue of violations of the law in the approval procedure and block construction [of the new reactors] through legal means,” he added.

Independent lawmakers Kim Jong-hoon and Yoon Jong-oh, who represent Ulsan, released a joint statement saying the NSSC decision “basically forced the 3.8 million citizens of Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province to ‘stay where you are’” - a reference to the order infamously given to the ill-fated passengers during the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking.

Regarding the allegations that it began construction before approval was granted, KNHP said, “Once approval for the implementation plan has been given according to the Electric Source Development Promotion Act, it is possible to proceed with things such as site clearing and preparation for construction that are not regulated by the Atomic Safety Act.”

By Sin Dong-myeong and Kim Young-dong, Ulsan and Busan correspondents

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