Nuclear Safety Commission sets W303b budget for 2027, accelerating SMR regulation research

South Korea is stepping up development of safety regulation technology in preparation for the commercialization of small modular reactors, while also shifting to a year-round inspection regime for operating nuclear power plants and strengthening national radiation monitoring.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced Tuesday that it had drawn up a proposed 2027 budget of 303 billion won — an increase of 10.4 billion won ($7.57 million) from this year.

The budget prioritizes building a regulatory framework for non-light-water SMRs, which are being developed with a target of obtaining a license in the early 2030s. Some 8 billion won will go toward research and development to establish a new safety assessment framework for those reactors.

Another 2.7 billion won has been set aside for a pre-review system scheduled to take effect in November. The system will allow operators to request a regulatory review of reactor designs before formally applying for a license, reducing regulatory uncertainty from the earliest stages of development.

Safety verification for the government's innovative SMR, known as the i-SMR, will receive 12.3 billion won. Following the submission of a standard design approval application in February, the commission will develop regulatory technology covering the reactor's full lifecycle — from design and construction through operation and decommissioning.

The commission is also expanding foundational regulatory research into emerging technologies such as AI and nuclear fusion. The total R&D budget for next year has been set at 70.5 billion won, covering flexible operation and decommissioning of large nuclear power plants as well as the safe storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel.

How operating nuclear power plants are inspected will also change significantly. Starting in January, a continuous inspection system will replace the existing periodic inspection model, which had been concentrated during planned maintenance shutdowns. Under the new approach, inspections will be conducted throughout the year regardless of whether a plant is operating.

To support the change, the commission expanded the inspection budget by 2.5 billion won from this year to 7.7 billion won. It will also introduce new inspection items to strengthen in-depth checks for signs of abnormalities and vulnerabilities, and to assess operators' management capabilities.

Safety reviews for plants seeking continued operation will receive 9.1 billion won. The commission allocated 1 billion won for a decommissioning review of Wolsong Unit 1, 900 million won for a decommissioning inspection of Gori Unit 1, and 100 million won for a safety review of on-site dry storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel.

The commission also plans to expand communication with communities near nuclear power plants, allocating 4.8 billion won to establish and operate a network of nuclear safety information sharing centers. Four centers — in Gori, Wolsong, Yeonggwang and Saeul — are set to open this month, with three more to follow next year in Gochang, Hanul and Daejeon, completing a nationwide network of seven centers.

National radiation monitoring capabilities will also be strengthened. Some 1.4 billion won will go toward establishing and operating a National Radiation Monitoring Center at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.

The commission also plans to build an integrated information system linking environmental, atmospheric and seawater radiation data collected from monitoring stations across the country.

"This budget includes the essential funding needed to respond in a timely manner to both current and future safety regulation challenges, and to transparently disclose the regulatory process and its outcomes to the public," commission Chairman Choi Won-ho said.