Seven out of 10 South Koreans are happy with power sourcing from cheap nuclear reactors and do not agree with the government’s plan to phase out nuclear fuel.
Based on the public survey, the Korean Nuclear Society and a council of 200 energy science professors on Monday urged the liberal government to reexamine its energy policy of weaning the country off fossil and nuclear fuel and come up with a more reasonable energy mix.
The phone survey was conducted by Gallup Korea for two days this month on 1,006 respondents aged 19 and older. They were questioned on their attitudes toward nuclear power and their thoughts about the government’s energy initiative.
The survey showed that 69.5 percent of the respondents approved of the country’s reliance on nuclear power generation versus 25 percent that were opposed. The results were little changed from those of the August survey, which showed 71.6 percent in favor and 26 percent in opposition.
The support rate was over 60 percent in all age groups.
About 35.4 percent wanted to see more nuclear power plants, with 16.9 percent calling for “a significant increase” and 18.5 percent “a slight increase.” For those that wanted to scale back the country’s reliance on nuclear power, only 6.7 percent was for a complete withdrawal.
“The survey results are an indication that the general public wants the country to pursue both nuclear and renewables,” said Korean Nuclear Society.
Since last year, President Moon Jae-in has pushed an energy policy to raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 20 percent by 2030 from the current 6 percent. The jump in renewables would entail a gradual phase-out in fossil and nuclear fuel. Korea currently generates about 40 percent of its energy from coal, 30 percent from nuclear and 20 percent from natural gas. The government said it aims to bring down the nuclear reliance to 24 percent by 2030.
Under the initiative, the government stopped the construction of new reactors and retired aged facilities before their legitimate age.
The measures took a heavy toll on utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. as it had to import more crude and LNG whose prices have gone up this year due to reduced generation from nuclear reactors.
Critics argue that a nuclear phase-out would drive up electricity bills and deliver a crushing blow to the economy. The new policy would also undermine the standing of the world’s fifth-largest nuclear energy producer and its efforts to export its nuclear technology. Korea won a $20 billion project to build four reactors for the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and has been seeking to grab more nuclear deals overseas.