The Peaceful and Innovative Approach for the Universal Solution over Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Kee-chan Song Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)

Since the first introduction of the nuclear power plant, Kori Unit 1 in 1978 Korea has relied on the nuclear energy to sustainably support electricity for the economic development. The four nuclear complexes which deploy twenty reactors, four CANDU's in Wolsung and sixteen in other sites, are the steam engines for the economic growth. As illustrated in Figure 1, all four complexes are located along the coastal areas. This was simply due to the easiness to transport parts for the reactor construction and the easiness to access the cooling sea water. The other industries have been also developed along the coastal area. In 2009 Korea became the world top 9 for the international trade. The global trading becomes the heart of the business sector in Korea. This inevitably develops the cluster of major cities along the coastal areas. Busan became the 2nd largest city with the biggest harbor to become a real hub for the export and import. Many metro cities are developed along Busan to manufacture steel, chemical substances, petroleum, car making, and ship building. These industries traditionally classified as a manufacturing industry requires a lot of energy. To meet the huge demand from the conventional manufacturing industry and the new comer, information technology and high tech electronics sectors nuclear power plants have been introduced in the South Eastern part of Korea. The other complex Yonggwang is located in the South Western part of Korea to support the steel manufacturing and chemical engineering business in that area. In summary the nuclear power has contributed as a heart for the economy of Korea for the last three decades and nowadays the complexes are surrounded with major cities and industries.