South Koreans living near Wolsong plant jittery as Seoul doubles down on nuclear power

President Yoon is pushing for nuclear power to overtake coal as the main source of electricity to strengthen the country’s energy security

Experts say South Korea’s clustered reactors pose no safety risks, but residents are unconvinced and have demanded the government fund relocation plans

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Children play in water as Wolsong nuclear power plant is seen in the background in Gyeongju, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:46am, 8 Sep 2022

Hwang Bun-hee, 74, lives in a pink house near the sea surrounded by a riotous vegetable garden and sounds of birds – but she gets upset whenever she looks at her house, just a few minutes’ walk from Wolsong nuclear power plant.

“When I first came here in 1986, there was just one reactor. Now there are five,” Hwang said. “The worst thing is I can’t sell my property when I want to move.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, is pushing for nuclear power to overtake coal as the main source of electricity to help meet the country’s climate targets and strengthen energy security. The government wants to increase nuclear energy’s share of the nation’s power mix to 33 per cent by 2030 from 27 per cent currently.

Seoul has also highlighted Europe’s energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, as a wake-up call to bolster domestic sources of power.

The government is proposing an additional six nuclear plants by 2036 on top of the current 24 reactors in a country the size of the US state of Indiana, raising deep concerns among hundreds of Korean residents living in the most densely built area in the world for nuclear power.

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