South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission has initiated the approval process for decommissioning the Wolseong 1 reactor on Feb. 27. The commission expects to receive a decommissioning license as early as next year.
The decommissioning review for the Gori 1 reactor, which began in January 2022, is set to be completed within the first half of this year. The nuclear industry anticipates that the approval of these projects will provide a much-needed boost to the country’s nuclear decommissioning sector.
Decommissioning a nuclear power plant is a lengthy and technically demanding process that involves dismantling infrastructure and safely removing radioactive contamination after a plant permanently ceases operations. The entire process typically takes at least 15 years, progressing through four phases: pre-shutdown preparation (two years), safety management and spent fuel removal (five years), actual decommissioning (six years), and site restoration (two years).
Decommissioning a single nuclear reactor costs roughly 872.6 billion won ($600 million), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. With 30 reactors slated for eventual shutdown, Korea’s domestic decommissioning market is estimated to be worth around 26 trillion won. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 188 nuclear reactors have been permanently shut down but not yet fully decommissioned globally, with a total of 588 reactors expected to cease operations by 2050. Although estimates vary among institutions, the global nuclear decommissioning market is projected to reach approximately 500 trillion won ($350 billion) by 2050.
South Korean companies looking to expand internationally must first establish a proven track record. Experience in decommissioning reactors at home is a prerequisite for winning contracts in other countries.
“Without prior decommissioning experience, companies will struggle to secure deals in international projects,” said Seo Beom-kyung, head of the Nuclear Facility Decontamination Technology Development Division at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. “Companies need to establish a track record decommissioning of Gori No. 1 and Wolseong No. 1 before expanding into global markets.”
Domestic companies have ramped up investments in decommissioning technology since the Gori No. 1 reactor was permanently shut down in 2017.
Doosan Enerbility, one of Korea’s leading power plant equipment makers, has focused on nuclear waste management. In 2015, the company signed a technology agreement with U.S.-based NAC to develop casks for spent fuel storage and began exporting the product to the U.S. in 2021. Doosan also signed a contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) in 2023 to design a dry storage system for spent fuel.
In 2022, Hyundai E&C became the first Korean company to participate in the Indian Point Energy Center nuclear decommissioning project led by Holtec in the U.S. Hyundai E&C was involved in key decommissioning processes, including chemical decontamination and reactor pressure vessel segmentation. The company has also gained expertise in site restoration through projects commissioned by KHNP.
Daewoo E&C has been expanding its expertise in nuclear decommissioning through partnerships with foreign companies with prior experience in the field. The company has since worked on related projects, including replacing steam generators at Hanbit Units 3 and 4. The company is developing core decommissioning technologies, including plasma and specialized wire saw-cutting techniques.
KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering will conduct the system decontamination for Gori 1. Decontamination, the process of reducing radiation levels to a safe threshold, is a critical precursor to full-scale decommissioning, which includes dismantling, waste management, and site remediation.
“We aim to secure experience in decommissioning heavy water reactors, such as Wolseong 1, before expanding into the global pressurized heavy water reactor decommissioning market,” said a KEPCO KPS official.
