Lawmaker calls for SMR safety regulations to stay ahead of licensing demand

Amid growing momentum behind the development and commercialization of small modular reactors, calls are emerging for safety regulation frameworks to be established ahead of actual licensing demand.

Rep. Han Jun-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, analyzed documents submitted by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) on Tuesday, including its "SMR Commercialization Safety Regulation Development Strategy." The documents confirmed that the NSSC plans to establish a dedicated unit and secure specialized personnel in 2027, revise relevant laws and systems by 2030, and complete technical standards by 2032.

The innovative SMR (i-SMR) is currently undergoing a standard design approval review, with development targeting a construction permit application in 2028 and electricity production by 2035. Separately, a range of new SMR designs are under development, and preliminary reviews of three new reactor types are set to begin in 2027, pointing to growing licensing demand for multiple reactor types in the years ahead.

Unlike conventional large-scale nuclear power plants, SMRs vary widely in cooling methods, safety systems and intended uses, making it critical to secure safety assessment standards and regulatory verification technologies tailored to each reactor type's characteristics.

According to the NSSC's submitted regulatory framework development plan, the agency outlined plans to develop and revise one commission rule, 16 public notices, 18 regulatory guidelines, 20 review guidelines and seven verification codes related to SMR technical standards. Regulatory verification technology development is expected to require more than 90 billion won ($67.4 million) through 2032, and the NSSC said it believes the necessary regulatory framework can be built in stages if sufficient organizational capacity, personnel and budget are secured.

One concern, however, is that the licensing application timelines of some new SMR developers overlap with the schedule for establishing regulatory standards.

The NSSC is targeting 2028 for the enactment of SMR technical standard rules, but some private non-light-water SMR developers are also aiming to file construction permit applications around the same time.

According to documents submitted by the NSSC, after an initial draft of technical standards is developed, the institutionalization process — including public comment periods — is expected to take approximately 12 to 18 months for public notices and about 12 months for regulatory guidelines.

Beyond the plan to sequentially establish all technical standards by 2032, experts say there is a need to identify which standards are most urgently required for actual licensing and to proactively manage the development, verification and institutionalization schedule for those standards.

Securing adequate organizational capacity and personnel is also cited as a challenge. The NSSC currently handles SMR regulatory policy, legislation, technical standards and licensing within a single division, and is concentrating its limited regulatory resources on the i-SMR.

Han said it was meaningful that the NSSC had drawn up a concrete plan for building a safety regulation framework in response to SMR commercialization, but stressed that "what matters is not the plan itself, but having a system in place that enables sufficient and independent safety reviews before actual licensing demand arrives."

"This is not about rushing licensing or relaxing safety standards," he added. "Rather, the intent is to secure in advance the technical standards, specialized personnel and regulatory verification capacity needed for safety reviews. Priority should be given to accelerating the development and institutionalization schedule for the most urgently needed technical standards, and plans for securing a dedicated organization, personnel and budget should be made more concrete."