State-owned KHNP to begin search for suitable sites with first SMR also in pipeline
South Korea has said it will build two large-scale nuclear power plants by 2038 with work expected to begin soon on finding a site.
Reports in South Korea said state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) plans to open bidding for sites for the new reactors, followed by an evaluation and site selection process expected to take five to six months.
The company is targeting construction permits in the early 2030s and completion of the reactors in 2037 and 2038.
Climate minister Kim Sung-whan said on 26 January that the government would continue the construction of the new nuclear power plants as scheduled under the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand.
The plan, devised by the previous government and finalised in February 2025, outlined national electricity supply policy for 2024-2038. It included the construction of two new large-scale reactors between 2037 and 2038 and deployment of the country’s first commercial small modular reactor (SMR) in 2035.
South Korean media said the construction of the two new large-scale plants had been put on hold for a “public consensus process” when Lee Jae Myung became president in June last year.
The English-language Korea JoonAng Daily said public opinion polls commissioned by the government have since showed that an average of 80% of respondents said nuclear power is needed, with 60% supporting the additional construction plan.
Background: South Korea’s Changes In Nuclear Policy
Lee had originally pressed for a focus on renewable energy, reversing course from the more pro-nuclear stance of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
He said in September that building more nuclear power plants is not realistic because it takes more than 15 years to construct a new facility from scratch. However, he had been supportive of using reactors that are already online or have started construction.
Moon Jae-in, who served as president from 2017 to 2022, oversaw a nuclear phaseout policy that drew fierce resistance from industry and labour unions.
Yoon, who served from 2022 until he was impeached and removed from office in 2025, reversed that policy, resuming construction of nuclear reactors and planning to expand nuclear output.
When Lee was elected president in June 2025, his administration said it would re-examine the role of nuclear energy.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, South Korea has 26 nuclear units in commercial operation and two, Saeul-3 and -4, listed as under construction. The 26 plants provided 31.7% of the country’s electricity production share in 2024, the IAEA said.
In December South Korea’s nuclear regulator approved the start of operations at the Saeul-3 nuclear power plant near Busan in the south of the country.
Construction of the indigenous 1,340-MW APR1400 pressurised water reactor unit at the Saeul nuclear station, formerly known as Shin-Kori, began in April 2017, but has been delayed by changes in government policy.
