South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) has approved the restart of the second unit of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s Kori nuclear power plant (DongA Science, 31/03/2026). The NSSC had already approved the continued operation of the 640 MWe unit until 2033 in November 2025, however further inspections were needed to confirm that the reactor could be restarted, particularly on changes and improvements related to assets and procedures for accident response and management.
The Kori 2 unit represented South Korea’s second nuclear power reactor when it started operations in 1983. It has been offline since April 2023, after the expiration of its first 40-year operating permit. In April 2022, KHNP applied for a permit for continued operation by submitting a safety assessment report including the results of a public opinion survey on the radiation environmental impact assessment.
KHNP is also looking to continue operations of nine other nuclear power units (Kori 3 and 4, Hanbit 1 and 2, Hanul 1 and 2, and Wolsong 2, 3, and 4) that have licenses set to expire before 2030.