The decision on whether to continue operating the Gori Units 3 and 4 nuclear power plants in Gijang County, Busan, which have been halted for several months, is expected to be made as early as this month.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced that it will hold its 17th meeting on the 27th to review the "Application for Continued Operation Permits for Gori Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4."
The application for continued operation permits for Gori Units 3 and 4 was first put on the agenda at the 16th meeting held on the 15th, but no conclusion was reached.
However, the approval proposal for the accident management plan for Gori Units 3 and 4 was passed as originally proposed. The accident management plan is a document containing response strategies, related equipment, and implementation systems in the event of a major accident at a nuclear power plant. It is considered the first hurdle in determining whether a nuclear power plant that has exceeded its design lifespan can be safely restarted for continued operation.
With the approval of the accident management plan, which includes core content such as nuclear power plant equipment and safety standards, cautious predictions are emerging within the nuclear industry that the continued operation of Gori Units 3 and 4 could be approved by the end of this year.
In the case of Gori Unit 2, which was the first domestic nuclear power plant to apply for continued operation to pass review and resume operations in April, its continued operation was approved after three rounds of review.
One of the issues at that time was the radiation environmental impact assessment permit documents for Gori Unit 2. Some commissioners argued that the radiation environmental impact assessment submitted by HanSuwon should be compared with the radiation environmental assessment from the time of Gori Unit 2's operating permit and the latest environmental assessment.
Attention is now on whether a similar situation will recur in the continued operation review for Gori Units 3 and 4. During the accident management plan review held on the 15th, there were pointed out that it was necessary to supplement the content of the radiation environmental impact assessment.
Meanwhile, Gori Unit 3 halted operations in September 2024 due to the expiration of its design lifespan. Unit 4 has been suspended from operation since August 2025. If the continued operation permit proposal for Gori Units 3 and 4 is passed at the meeting on the 27th, operations will resume several months later after preparation by HanSuwon and inspection by institutional investors of the review process.
in TECH
