The 1,350 MW first reactor of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant, located in Uljin county (eastern South Korea) has entered commercial operation, seven months after it generated its first power in May 2022. The construction on the APR-1400 unit started in 2012 and was originally supposed to be completed in 2017 but it suffered delays as South Korea considered phasing out nuclear. A second APR-1400 unit is scheduled to be completed in 2023 and two 1,400 MW similar reactors are under construction (Shin Kori 5 and 6) and expected in 2025 and 2026.
Shin Hanul Unit 1, operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), is the country’s 27th nuclear reactor for commercial operation. 27% of South Korea’s power was generated through nuclear energy in 2021, for an installed capacity of more than 23 GW. Five more GW of nuclear capacity are under construction in the country.
In July 2022, the South Korean government approved a plan to increase the share of nuclear in the country's power mix to over 30% by 2030, and to resume stalled construction work on the Shin Hanul 3 and 4 reactors (1.3 GW each). In addition, the country suspended a gradual nuclear phase-out with the closure of 10 of its 28 nuclear reactors by 2038 initiated in 2017 by the previous administration.
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