Questions swirl over rushed nuclear site announcement, minister's absence

The government's announcement of sites for two new large nuclear reactors and the country's first small modular reactor has sparked criticism over the abrupt change in timing and the way the results were released.

Multiple sources in the nuclear industry said Tuesday that the announcement of the candidate sites had originally been scheduled for June 25, but was suddenly moved up to June 17 after the site selection evaluation committee completed its review ahead of schedule — a change made, sources said, to prevent the results from leaking.

"We understand that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power initially opposed the June 17 announcement, given President Lee Jae Myung's overseas trip and KHNP President Kim Hoe-cheon's business visit to the Czech Republic from June 17 through June 19," multiple sources said. "But the site selection committee pushed hard to move up the date, arguing that the early completion of the review significantly raised the risk of a leak."

The sources added that the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment ultimately accepted the committee's position and rushed the announcement to June 17 — but by then, the president was in Europe, Climate Minister Kim Sung-hwan was on a field inspection of Seomjin River water management and colonial-era ecological restoration sites in South Gyeongsang Province's Hadong, South Jeolla Province's Gurye and Gwangyang, and KHNP President Kim was in the Czech Republic. None of the key decision-makers were present when the results were announced.

"As a result, reporting on the announcement was delayed, and the press release was not distributed until around 7:20 p.m., after business hours," the sources said.

KHNP distributed a press release titled "Site Selection Evaluation Committee Announces Results of New Nuclear Power Plant Candidate Site Selection" at around 7:20 p.m. on June 17. The release stated that Yeongdeok-gun in North Gyeongsang Province and Gijang-gun in Busan had been selected as the sites for two new large reactors and the country's first SMR, respectively. Minister Kim was reported to have been having dinner in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, at the time of the announcement.

It is standard practice for high-profile announcements such as site selections to be made by the evaluation committee chair in the presence of the relevant minister and the head of the agency concerned.

The nuclear site selection had drawn particular attention as a decision reached after considerable deliberation since the Lee administration took office. Yet it was wrapped up without even a formal briefing, with only a press release distributed after hours.

President Lee had previously hinted at the outcome, saying there was "exactly one place — somewhere they started building and then stopped," emphasizing that there were no new locations left for nuclear construction. The remark was a reference to Yeongdeok-gun, which was ultimately selected as the site for the new large reactors.

Yeongdeok-gun was designated during the Lee Myung-bak administration as the planned site for Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, each rated at 1.5 gigawatts, and KHNP had already purchased about 19 percent of the land. Geological surveys and environmental impact assessments for the project had also been substantially completed at the time.

"For a site selection announcement that triggered fierce competition among local governments, it would only make sense for the committee chair to present the results in the presence of the relevant minister or agency head," a government source in Sejong said. "No matter how independently the selection committee operated, releasing only a press release after business hours with no briefing is highly unusual."

The source added that the episode "shows just how little interest Climate Minister Kim Sung-hwan — a former opponent of nuclear power — has in nuclear plant construction."