South Korea’s nuclear power revival faces execution capacity limits



Analysis South Korea’s nuclear power revival faces execution capacity limits Lee administration’s reactor push under the 11th Basic Plan collides with siting, waste and regulatory bottlenecks Insun KangMarch 4, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON South Korea's Kori Nuclear Power Plant, Feb. 25, 2013 \| Image: International Atomic Energy Agency via Flickr South Korea’s renewed commitment to nuclear expansion under the 11th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand faces binding execution constraints across siting, industrial supply chains, waste management and regulatory oversight. On Jan. 26, Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan reaffirmed that construction of new nuclear power plants would proceed as planned, following policy forums and public opinion surveys showing majority support for expansion. The plan calls for two additional large-scale reactors and one small modular reactor (SMR), with site solicitation by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) expected soon and construction permits targeted for the early 2030s. Completion is scheduled © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Lee Jae Myung’s ‘pacemaker’ strategy tests South Korea’s leverage with Trump 02Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls 03North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy 04South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 05AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline 06South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics 07Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement 08Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility

Analysis

South Korea’s nuclear power revival faces execution capacity limits

Lee administration’s reactor push under the 11th Basic Plan collides with siting, waste and regulatory bottlenecks

Insun KangMarch 4, 2026

South Korea’s nuclear power revival faces execution capacity limits

South Korea's Kori Nuclear Power Plant, Feb. 25, 2013 | Image: International Atomic Energy Agency via Flickr

South Korea’s renewed commitment to nuclear expansion under the 11th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand faces binding execution constraints across siting, industrial supply chains, waste management and regulatory oversight.

On Jan. 26, Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan reaffirmed that construction of new nuclear power plants would proceed as planned, following policy forums and public opinion surveys showing majority support for expansion.

The plan calls for two additional large-scale reactors and one small modular reactor (SMR), with site solicitation by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) expected soon and construction permits targeted for the early 2030s. Completion is scheduled

South Korea’s nuclear power revival faces execution capacity limits

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Insun Kang