PPP lawmaker calls for halt to appointment of anti-nuclear activist to KHNP, KEPCO E&C boards

People Power Party lawmaker Park Chung-kwon on Tuesday called for an immediate halt to the appointment process of former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young — a longtime anti-nuclear activist — to the boards of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and KEPCO Engineering & Construction (KEPCO E&C). He said the selection of someone who has "denied the nuclear industry" must be stopped at once.

Park made the remarks at a press conference at the National Assembly's media center, joined by the civic groups Facts and Science Network and Nuclear Power Support Civil Society. "An anti-nuclear activist who helped destroy the ecosystem of South Korea's nuclear industry is now attempting to enter the highest decision-making bodies of KHNP and KEPCO E&C," he said.

Yang recently applied for a non-standing director position at KHNP and advanced to the interview stage before the executive recommendation committee. She also applied for the standing auditor post at KEPCO E&C and was scheduled to sit for an interview that day.

"It is hard to accept that someone who has spent decades denying the nuclear industry and calling for plant closures would sit on the board of a nuclear public enterprise," Park said. "It is an insult to the workers and scientists in the nuclear sector."

He added that allowing someone who has opposed KHNP's core business — expanding nuclear power and pursuing overseas nuclear exports — to exercise voting rights on its board could create serious conflicts of interest. He said such an appointment would also run counter to the duty of loyalty under commercial law.

Park also questioned Yang's professional qualifications and suitability for a public institution executive role, criticizing her as someone who "has focused on ideologically driven anti-nuclear activism rather than objectively evaluating the safety and economic viability of nuclear power."

Citing overseas nuclear projects including the Czech nuclear power plant export deal, Park warned that placing anti-nuclear activists on the boards of nuclear public enterprises "could itself raise doubts among foreign clients about the consistency of South Korea's energy policy."

"Key positions at nuclear-related institutions should be filled by experts dedicated to public safety and national industrial development, not by political affiliation," Park said, urging the Lee Jae-myung administration to immediately halt Yang's appointment process.

Yang is one of South Korea's most prominent anti-nuclear activists, having worked with civic groups including the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements. During her tenure as a 21st National Assembly member, she consistently advocated for reducing nuclear power and expanding renewable energy.