Korea nuclear power survey may cause insufficient power supply

On Tuesday, South Korea's main nuclear power project supervisors are investigating the forged component safety certificates of three nuclear reactors. The two reactors have been closed on Monday.

The 23 state-owned nuclear power stations in South Korea provide 30% of the national power. The government warned that because of the suspension of multiple nuclear reactors, it is likely to cause unprecedented power shortages.

The authorities endeavored to emphasize that the parts of the nuclear power plant suspected of falsifying safety certificates are not critical components and do not have any safety hazards. However, after the nuclear leak incident in Fukushima, Japan, the exposure is likely to cause the glorious image of South Korea’s nuclear power projects to plummet.

The nine members of the Nuclear Safety Committee did not have the power to speak to the media, but one of them revealed to us that "The committee will investigate all nuclear reactor components. The investigation will be carried out by a private team and a public team. There will also be relevant regulations. To oversee them."

A spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Committee also said that the list of private and public teams and the investigation schedule will be announced early on Wednesday.

Three other nuclear reactors under investigation are still in working condition. Two nuclear power plants that have been shut down will remain closed until their parts are replaced.

Five nuclear reactors are still shut down due to routine maintenance and minor faults. The reduced power capacity of the grid is 6.5 billion watts, and the total power capacity is 81.7 billion watts.

Two shut down nuclear reactors can generate 100 million watts of electricity. It was alleged that the two nuclear power plants proved that some of the parts used in the United States and Canada had related certificates that were forged by parts suppliers.

This episode followed the series of nuclear power plant problems that occurred in South Korea this year. Multiple nuclear power plants have been shut down due to different breakdowns. According to local media, senior executives of Korean hydrogen nuclear power companies have also been exposed to bribery and are being investigated.

The Korea Economic and Energy Research Institute is the government’s energy policy think tank, and its president and chairman, Kim Jin-woo, said: “Before this year, there were many minor problems in reactor management. The administrator always said that they did not know that there was a problem. But the problem is here."