Korean President Lee Speaks on Nuclear Safety
Korean President Lee Speaks on Nuclear Safety
  • Matthew Weigand
  • 승인 2011.09.23 12:30
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Korean President Lee Myung-bak addressed the High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security on September 22, 2011. He spoke about his thoughts on the peaceful and safe use of nuclear energy. He also mentioned three points that would increase nuclear safety throughout the world.

THe president said that the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant last March dealt a hard blow to confidence in nuclear safety. However, he said that he did not think that this accident should be cause to renounce nuclear energy. Instead he said that this was a moment to seek ways to promote the safe use of nuclear energy based on scientific evidence.

President Lee Myung-bak at High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security

"I am not saying that nuclear energy is the only option to solving future energy problems," clarified the president. "Efforts should be stepped up to promote other alternatives such as renewable energy. Yet the use of nuclear energy is inevitable as there still remain technical and economic limits for alternative energy to meet the rapidly rising global energy demand or to tackle the problem of climate change."

The president went on to say that while nuclear energy has the advantages of being an inexpensive and clean energy source, it is with greater confidence in its safety that it can be more widely used. To this end, it is important that each country establishes a rigorous nuclear safety framework. International cooperation and coordination led by the IAEA also need to be promoted, according to the president.

"In this regard," he went on to say, "the Republic of Korea welcomes the efforts by the IAEA to strengthen the international nuclear safety framework, notably by establishing global norms on nuclear safety such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety, setting the IAEA Safety Standards, providing IAEA peer reviews, and creating a network of experts.

"We also welcome the IAEA Action Plan for the promotion of nuclear safety and emergency preparedness which builds upon the IAEA Ministerial Conference in June. The Republic of Korea will render full support for its implementation.

The president also emphasized three points that he felt would create more nuclear safety in the future.

First, he said, each country should have an independent safety regulatory framework. While a nuclear accident is rare, a single mistake can bring about disastrous outcomes. Institutional arrangements are therefore needed to secure safety before pursuing economy. To this end, the Government of the Republic of Korea plans to launch a Presidential Commission on Nuclear Safety and Security this October as an independent agency. The Republic of Korea was also the first country to host the IAEA IRRS (Integrated Regulatory Review Service) after the accident at Fukushima. The IAEA IRRS team commended Korea's effective regulatory framework, its contribution to the global nuclear safety community, and its adequate response to the Fukushima accident.

The second point that the president made was that utmost transparency should be guaranteed to increase confidence in nuclear energy. Not only should information on nuclear safety be adequately disseminated to the public, but systematic education and training programmes should also be provided to stakeholders to help nurture a culture of transparency in the nuclear field. To this end, his country has established an International Nuclear Safety School to render assistance to countries embarking on a nuclear power programme. The school provides training to safety experts to help them create a regulatory infrastructure and build technological capacity. We are also making efforts to enhance public awareness on nuclear safety through various educational programs. Furthermore, we set up an integrated information system on nuclear safety to facilitate the public's access to relevant information.

The third point that the president stated was that regional cooperation should be strengthened, as a nuclear accident is transnational in nature and could therefore have an enormous impact on neighboring countries and their people. Neighboring countries and their people who may be affected by a nuclear accident should be recognized as important stakeholders and be given full information and consultations so that their trust may be secured. In this vein, it is noteworthy that the Korea-Japan-China Summit last May procured an agreement on strengthening trilateral cooperation in nuclear safety and disaster management.

"The Republic of Korea currently operates 21 nuclear power plants since it first introduced a nuclear power plant in 1978, with five more under construction,"
the president said. "The Republic of Korea puts the utmost emphasis on safety in using nuclear energy; as a result, we have the lowest level of accident and incident rates in the world. We are investing heavily in developing alternative energy sources. At the same time, we will actively utilize nuclear energy in accordance with our low carbon, green growth policy. Furthermore, we are willing to share our accumulated experience in the construction and safe operation of nuclear power plants with the international community.

"We are also keen to contribute to the peaceful use of nuclear energy by leading the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit to a success. Nuclear security, which aims to secure nuclear materials from terrorists, is a prerequisite for all nuclear activities. I look forward to leaders from all over the world gathering in Seoul next March to review progress on the commitments made at the Washington Summit and to reach concrete and action-oriented agreements to guide future activities. I look forward to the insightful inputs from the leaders and delegations gathered here."


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