Issues and challenges on licensing nuclear power plants: Focusing on the Case of Suspension of Construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 in Uljin
Authors:   Korean Public Land Law Association, Kim Jae Kwang 
Published: March 2023

The nuclear power plant construction project faced a major crisis due to the Moon Jae-in government's nuclear power plant policy. Construction of Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6 was resumed as recommended by the Public Deliberation Committee, but plans to build Shin-Hanul Units 3 and 4 in Uljin and Cheonji Units 1 and 2 in Yeongdeok were nullified. As a result, residents of areas scheduled for nuclear power plant construction, such as Uljin and Yeongdeok, had to endure disadvantages due to economic downturn, job loss, and infringement of property rights. The Moon Jae-in government's policy of nuclear power plant was raised in the form of a presidential election pledge to join the energy conversion trend of some countries, including Germany. This was a big event that changed the basis of the national energy policy that had been maintained for a long time, and caused controversy over whether it was desirable or not in terms of industrial and energy security. Korea is a country with absolutely insufficient endowed energy resources, where it is importing more than 95% of its energy from abroad, and where it is difficult to connect to the power grid with foreign countries. If Korea gives up nuclear power, it will not be able to secure a stable energy supply. It can cause serious problems in terms of energy security. Permission for nuclear power plant construction is related to the Basic Plan for Electricity Demand and Supply(BPEDS). Establishing the BPEDS, K-Water gets intent documents from power producer, and reviews whether or not to permit generation, then, it is reflected in the BPEDS. In other words, when a new nuclear power plant construction is reflected to the BPEDS in the licensing proceedings for construction of nuclear power plants. K-water establishes a basic construction plan, conducts an environmental impact assessment, and then applies for approval of the power source development project execution plan in accordance with Article 5 of the Power Source Development Promotion Act, finally receives a construction permit of the nuclear power plant. Seoul Administrative Court dismissed the appel because BPEDS was not the object of the appeal under the administrative disposition in the Decision 2018Guhap53344 Decided January 10, 2020. In the case of the 8th BPEDS, it is reasonable to admit its disposability because it can affect specifically individual rights and obligations immediately by just the plan was established. In principle, the BPEDS is an internal guideline for administrative agencies to establish various plans for electricity business, and is applicable only to administrative agencies. However, the cancellation of construction and suspension of construction according to the 8th BPEDS can be seen directly and concretely to affect the rights and obligations of the people, such as nuclear power plant partners, nuclear equipment manufacturers and suppliers, nuclear radiation safety management service companies, and merchants in the vicinity of nuclear power plants. The point to resuming the construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 is the environmental impact assessment. Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 received an environmental impact assessment in 2016, but the evaluation period ended in August 2021 as its construction was halted due to the Moon Jae-in government's policy of nuclear power plant. Therefore, it is legally appropriate to conduct the environmental impact assessment again. In principle, it is correct to proceed with the environmental assessment again from the beginning. However, in the case of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4, all procedures were suspended due to the government's decision to suspend construction, so there attribute a fault to the government. In addition, environmental impact assessment is to prepare measures to avoid, eliminate or reduce harmful environmental impacts by investigating, predicting, and evaluating the impact of the project on the environment in advance.