Eight out of 10 South Koreans said nuclear power generation was necessary, according to a survey.
The Korea Energy Information Culture Agency said on Aug. 14 that 81.9 percent of the respondents in the survey said that nuclear power generation was necessary, far exceeding the percentage of negative answers (15.5 percent) in the Energy Perception Survey for the First Half of 2024. In addition, 36.5 percent said it was very necessary and 45.4 percent said it was somewhat necessary.
The survey was carried out by Korea Research International, a public opinion poll research firm at the request of the Korea Energy Information Culture Agency. It was conducted twice from March 28-31 and June 2-5 through a one-on-one telephone survey of 1,000 people aged 18 and over nationwide.
In the survey, 70.2 percent agreed on the statement “Korea’s nuclear power plants are safe,” while 3.5 percent said they had no idea or did not answer. But 26.3 percent disagreed. The 70.2 percent also said, “Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in Korea is safely managed.”
As for the statement of “South Korea should increase the amount of electric power generated by nuclear power plants,” 59.3 percent gave positive answers.
However, when asked if a nuclear power plant is built in the respondents’ neighborhoods, those who will oppose it (52.8 percent) outnumbered those who will not (45.1 percent) by 7.7 percentage points. The most common reason for their opposition was the fear of radiation exposure (59.2 percent), followed by the fear of environmental damage (24.4 percent) and the fear of hampering local development and decreasing their property value (10.2 percent).
When asked about the urgency of a high-level radioactive waste disposal facility, 91.1 percent said it was urgent. 54.1 percent said they will be in favor of a high-level radioactive waste disposal facility being built in their neighborhoods if adequate compensation and safety are guaranteed.
Finally, 69.8 percent agreed on South Korea continuing to operate nuclear power plants. This percentage was 2.5 times more than that of opposition.
Source: BusinessKorea