April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] A citizen jury has voted to resume the construction of Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear plants in Korea. 

Following three months of discussions, the jury said on Oct. 20 that 59.5 percent of the citizen committee members were in favor of resuming the project. Around 1.5 trillion won (US$1.30 billion) has been spent on completing 30 percent of the plants so far. 

The government will announce a final decision on Oct. 24.

The citizen committee also voted for a reduction in Korea’s reliance on nuclear energy, with 53.2 percent supporting the government’s related decisions. Another 35.5 percent said the current reliance levels should be maintained.

The committee is comprised of 471 members representing different sectors. It was launched shortly after the Moon Jae-in government put on hold the construction of both plants in July to uphold its non-nuclear initiative.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)