Yeongdeok-gun to launch naming contest for new nuclear power plant Thursday

Yeongdeok-gun in North Gyeongsang Province will hold a public naming contest for its planned new nuclear power plant.

According to the county, the contest opens Thursday and runs through Sept. 10 — a two-week period open to Yeongdeok-gun residents.

Submissions should propose a symbolic name that goes beyond the plant's role as a power-generating facility, capturing residents' hopes for the county's future and regional development.

Entries will be reviewed, with the winning name announced and awarded in October.

The naming contest is the latest step in the county's preparations for the new plant. Since being designated a candidate site, Yeongdeok-gun signed a mutual-cooperation agreement with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in July and has since pursued job training in future energy strategy and new project development.

Starting in October, the county plans to hold a series of departmental future-strategy briefings to identify "100 strategic projects for future energy," aiming to flesh out regional development initiatives tied to the new plant.

Alongside this, the county will press ahead with fiscal planning for the systematic use of legally mandated nuclear power support funds and with responding to the formal designation of the planned zone.

"We are steadily making the preparations needed for the new nuclear power plant construction, with the mindset of preparing the next 100 years of Yeongdeok together with our residents," Yeongdeok-gun County Chief Jo Ju-hong said. "We will do our utmost to ensure the new nuclear plant translates into tangible regional development and real benefits for residents."