Last year a third of electricity in South Korea was produced from nuclear power plants
South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in vowed on Monday to scrap all plans to build new nuclear reactors as he seeks to steer Asia’s fourth-largest economy clear of atomic power. Moon, who swept to power with a landslide election win last month, campaigned on promises to phase out atomic energy and embrace what he says are safer and more environmentally-friendly power sources including solar and wind power. The Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan sparked by a powerful earthquake in March 2011 sparked widespread public concern in neighbouring South Korea over its own aged atomic plants. “We will dump our atomic-centric power supply and open the door to the post-nuclear era, ” Moon said in a speech marking the decommissioning of the country’s first nuclear reactor, the Kori-1. “I will scrap all preparations to build new reactors currently underway and will not extend lifespan of current reactors.” Many reactors are located dangerously close to residential areas in the densely-populated nation, Moon said, warning of “unimaginable consequences” in case of a nuclear meltdown.
