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The Wolsong 1 reactor

An early closure is coming for the Wolsong 1 reactor, which began commercial operation in 1983 at the Wolsong nuclear power plant in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

It is to be the second closure of an outdated reactor after the June 2017 shutdown of Kori 1 in Busan. Efforts were also halted on four of the six new reactors that had been scheduled for construction.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced on June 15 that a decision to close Wolsong 1 and halt the Cheonji and Daejin Nuclear Power Plant projects had been made at a board meeting that day at the Grand Hilton Seoul. The decision was a follow-up measure for the administration’s road map for a transition away from nuclear and fossil fuel-based energy.

In Oct. 2017, the administration presented an energy road map that included barring extensions on the lifespans of outdated nuclear power plants and abandonment of plans to build new ones. In an eighth electricity supply framework plan announced late last year, it opted not to include Wolsong 1’s capacity (maximum supply of 0.68GW) in its 2018 supply plan.

Wolsong 1 is seen as the most prominent example of an outdated reactor, with its 30-year design life having elapsed in 2012. Many have argued that it does not meet the more stringent nuclear power safety standards in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, including the ability to withstand earthquakes at a scale of 6.5 or greater.

But in a controversial move, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) decided in 2015 to extend its lifespan by another ten years. The NSSC’s extension decision – which it made following a safety assessment of facilities that KHNP had spent 560 billion won (US$508 million) to reinforce to win the approval – prompted civic groups and local resident to file suit claiming the decision and assessment process had been conducted unlawfully. In Feb. 2017, Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. A second trial is currently under way after the NSSC appealed the decision.

KHNP also cited “lack of economic feasibility” the same day as its reason for closing Wolsong 1. Due to repeated safeguard reinforcements and a low rate of operation, Wolsong 1’s power generation unit costs stood at 120 won (US$0.109) as of late 2017, or double the selling price of 60 won (US$0.054).

“After the 2016 earthquakes in Gyeongju, Wolsong 1’s operation rate dropped below 50 percent, and it remains suspended now [because of maintenance],” explained KHNP president Chung Jae-hoon.

“Wolsong 1 is already running in the red,” Chung added.

The closure of Wolsong 1 does not appear likely to affect power supplies. Not only was it excluded from this year’s supply plan, but as of late 2017 it accounted for just 3% of all nuclear power capacity (22.5GW) and 0.68% of all power generation facility capacity. As construction is completed on the Shin-Hanul 1 and 2 reactors and the Shin-Kori 4 and 5 reactors, total nuclear power capacity is set to rise to 27.5GW by 2022 even with Wolsong 1’s closure.

With Wolsong 1’s operation currently halted, KHNP said it would move shortly to file with the NSSC to permit “operation alterations toward a permanent shutdown.”

“Whereas the closure of Kori 1 was made to coincide with the end of its design life, the process for Wolsong 1 involves requesting that the NSSC’s permission for continued operation from three years ago be changed to a permanent shutdown, so the procedures are complex,” KHNP said.

“We expect it will take around two years to receive permission for a permanent shutdown,” it added.

KHNP also announced that day that it would be demanding compensation from the South Korean government for losses incurred by the abandonment of the Cheonji and Daejin Nuclear Power Plant projects. The Cheonji 1 and 2 reactors were to be built in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, and the Daejin 1 and 2 reactors in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. As of the project’s suspension last year, KHNP had spent around 340 billion won (US$308.5 million) on site purchasing, design, and other areas.

By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter

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