Asia Times: Koreans focus on dark side of nuclear power



	October 23, 1999	atimes.com

The Koreas

Koreans focus on dark side of nuclear power
By Ahn Mi-Young

SEOUL - They literally provided much of the fuel for South Korea's phenomenal economic growth in the 1980s and the early 1990s. But now the country's nuclear power plants are being seen in a decidedly unfavorable light by more and more South Koreans, and the government has been put on the defensive regarding its power policies.

At present, South Korea has 14 nuclear power plants, which generate 40 percent of the country's total energy supply. By 2015, the government plans to have 10 more to help accommodate rising power needs. But an increasing number of South Koreans are questioning the wisdom of having more nuclear plants when, they say, much of the world is going the opposite way.

More importantly, they argue, these plants are simply too risky to have around. They point to recent accidents such as the much publicized Sepember 30 incident at a nuclear fuel processing plant in Japan, as well as a radiation leak in a local power plant in early October.

Although the Korea Electricity Power Corporation (Kepco) quickly tried to downplay the October 4 leakage as ''negligible'', more than 1,000 people protested in front of the state-run power firm's headquarters in Seoul a day after the incident, accusing Kepco of a ''cover-up''.

Kepco has said that the accident exposed 22 plant workers to radiation that was equivalent to five X-rays. It has dismissed the accident as minor, and the subsequent protests as ''much ado about nothing''.

At the same time, though, officials from its nuclear fuel affiliate have made efforts to point out differences between the nuclear fuel used by Kepco plants and those that run Japanese plants. (The accident in Japan, where neutron radiation 20,000 times the normal level was unleashed, resulted in the injury of some 49 people.)

Says Cho Sang-Hyon, technical manager of the Kepco Nuclear Fuel Co in Taejon: ''When it comes to nuclear fuel, Korea is fundamentally different from Japan. We are not allowed to use such a highly enriched uranium of 18 percent as that used by JCO [the Japanese nuclear fuel supplier]. We are using only five percent enriched uranium.''

But many South Koreans remain unconvinced, insisting that the plants are no less dangerous because of the fuel they use. Some activists maintain there are other problems, such as faulty welding procedures in nuclear reactor facilities.

Such talk has upset many people, especially those living near the nuclear plants. The recent demonstration in front of the Kepco offices included angry fisherfolk who came a long way from Yongkwang in southern Cholla province, where two nuclear power plants are under construction.

Activists say what they are after at the very least is the containment of South Korea's nuclear power use. They argue that the government could very well develop other power sources. Kepco, in fact, also runs thermal power and hydro-electrical plants, which outnumber its nuclear facilities. But the nuclear plants will provide 46 percent of the country's energy needs in 15 years' time, once the new plants are completed.

South Korea turned to nuclear power in the 1970s when it was trying to catch up with its booming neighbor, Japan. As factories manufacturing textiles, cars, shoes, home appliances and steel multiplied, so did the country's energy needs. At the time, nuclear power was seen as clean and cost-efficient.

In truth, Kepco has maintained the lowest power charges in the world. Today, South Korean consumers pay only 92 won (about 7.6 cents) per kilowatt-hour, according to Kepco. But many say this should not be used as an excuse to increase South Korea's dependence on nuclear power.

''Only our nation is going against the global reduction of nuclear power plants,'' says journalist Kim Mi-Kyong. While the United States has 104 nuclear power plants, it has not constructed a new one since 1978 and has reduced the plants' share of total energy output from 22.49 percent in 1995 to the present 18.69 percent.

Still, it is not exactly accurate to say that South Korea is the only nation building more nuclear facilities. Just across the border, two nuclear reactors are being constructed in North Korea as part of a $4.6 billion project of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (Kedo). The reactors, on which some 500 engineers from Kepco are hard at work, are being built in return for Pyongyang's promise to freeze its nuclear weapons development program.

(Inter Press Service)

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