Not Led by Experts
The South Korean government announced on June 27 that it temporarily stopped the construction of the fifth and sixth units of the Shin Kori Nuclear Power Plant and began to collect public opinions on follow-up measures via a committee for the purpose. In principle, the committee has a duration of three months and is led by a panel of non-interested parties.
“28.8% of the construction was already completed as of the end of last month and cancellation of the project is estimated to cost 2.6 trillion won in sunk cost, compensation expenses, etc.,” the government explained, continuing, “This means the project has a significant impact on the regional economy and, as such, the cancellation of the project should be based on a social consensus, and the purpose of the committee is to facilitate efforts to reach the consensus.”
The committee is expected to have 10 or so members who are neutral, socially trusted and not engaged in the energy industry. The committee has no power to decide but will be responsible for designing the collection of public opinions and communicating with the general public. In addition, the committee is going to organize the panel of citizens that has the final say. Details about the panel have yet to be determined.
The government mentioned that the operation of the committee and the panel can refer to the case of Germany, where a similar mechanism is in action to select a nuclear waste disposal site. Earlier, the German government conducted a phone survey covering 70,000 people and formed a citizen panel with 120 out of them and they are currently discussing the matter.