KHNP Faces Controversy Over Gochang Event Enforcement and Control

At an event hosted by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) in Gochang, security guards and police were seen controlling the site. The presenter pointed out that KHNP, the organizer of the event, was focusing on control rather than gathering resident opinions, stating, "The entity opening this event on-site, that is, the entity that requested it, is the Gochang residents, and the entity opening it is KHNP." Evidence of interference with reporting by Newtamasa journalists during a live broadcast also emerged, as they were regarded with suspicion by KHNP.

Claims of similar deceptive practices at last year's Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant public hearing were raised. The presenter stated, "What these people did as soon as the residents left was lock the doors inside. They prevented residents from re-entering and then simply proceeded with the event inside." It was revealed that KHNP announced the cancellation of the public hearing, made residents leave, locked the doors, and then proceeded with the event internally. The situation at the time was recorded on video and released, causing widespread public outrage.

KHNP blocked the press from live broadcasting, citing resident complaints. The presenter explained, "They said residents complained that their faces shouldn't be shown. So, they said they couldn't do a live broadcast after that, even though I said there's no reason for residents to appear, because we only film the stage in front from behind." Despite promises to prevent the exposure of residents' faces, the live broadcast was restricted. Ultimately, the news crew decided to proceed with some live broadcasting and record the event for later release.

A press conference opposing the construction of an on-site high-level radioactive waste storage facility was held. The presenter announced the start of the press conference, declaring, "We will hold a press conference against the construction of an on-site high-level radioactive waste storage facility." Attendees chanted slogans demanding that nuclear waste not be forced upon specific regions, strongly protesting the government and KHNP's unilateral policy push.

Concerns were raised that this public hearing format would repeat the perfunctory operation seen at the press conference in front of the Jeonbuk Provincial Office. In particular, the presenter pointed out, "Only Gochang-gun and Yeonggwang-gun, which are within a 5km radius, are participating. What stories will you hear from other areas?" criticizing the closed method of gathering opinions, which targets only Gochang-gun and Yeonggwang-gun within 5km. This indicates a lack of sufficient community communication regarding the nuclear waste issue, which has widespread implications.

Speaker Choi Eun-suk pointed out the discrepancy between the President's past remarks and the current policy of expanding nuclear power plants. She criticized, "While planning to build more nuclear power plants on our already small land, the government shows an irresponsible attitude with extremely lax measures for high-level radioactive waste." She also criticized the government for turning regions into energy colonies and prioritizing chaebol companies over resident safety.

Concerns are growing that the storage of packaged waste, presented as a temporary measure, will be prolonged and become permanent. Speaker Choi Eun-suk asserted, "They are trying to make the temporary measure of storing continuously generated high-level waste from nuclear power plants within the power plants themselves, without building proper storage facilities, into a permanent measure, not a temporary one." Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant's nuclear waste storage capacity is predicted to soon reach saturation, emphasizing that temporary storage cannot be a permanent solution.

The Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant's spent nuclear fuel storage facility is expected to reach saturation around 2030. The speaker stated, "It has exceeded 85% and is expected to reach saturation around 2030," emphasizing that the current storage rate has surpassed 85%. If storage space becomes insufficient, a reactor shutdown would be unavoidable, raising the possibility of disruptions to power supply.

KHNP is guiding a policy to complete an interim storage facility by 2050 and sequentially transfer high-level radioactive waste, in accordance with the basic plan for high-level radioactive waste management. However, the speaker criticized, "KHNP, as the operator, is creating loopholes, saying it is difficult to legally guarantee a unilateral transfer schedule," pointing out that KHNP is evading legal responsibility. There was also criticism of attempts to divide local communities through financial compensation based on past cases, and anger over the holding of perfunctory informational meetings without resident communication.

The Anti-Nuclear Pilgrimage Group urged an end to the extension of the lifespan of old nuclear power plants and opposed the construction of new ones. The speaker raised their voice, saying, "Old nuclear power plants have reached their lifespan, so stop running them. New power plants conflict with renewable energy, so stop building them. And there's no way to dispose of nuclear waste, so stop building nuclear power plants." They strongly demanded measures for nuclear waste disposal and expressed their intention to continue their walking pilgrimage as a protest against the current government, which ignores public opinion. These activities emphasize public safety and responsibility towards future generations, demonstrating public resistance to the government's unilateral nuclear power policy.

Criticism was raised that the briefing process excluded resident participation and was perfunctory. The speaker pointed out, "If you're going to hold a briefing, you should invite residents and explain kindly, faithfully, carefully, and with sincerity until they understand. But what kind of briefing or discussion is it when they gather among themselves, using the phrase 'among themselves'?" strongly criticizing the attitude of local government heads and KEPCO. This is an unacceptable communication method in a sovereign nation and led to strong condemnation of attempts to suppress opposing opinions.

Assemblywoman Kang Eun-mi emphasized that most countries around the world have adopted anti-nuclear power as a national policy since the Fukushima accident. She stated, "After the Fukushima accident in Japan, most countries in the world decided on anti-nuclear power as a national policy and are proceeding with it. But our country is now saying it will build nuclear power plants again," criticizing Korea's policy of trying to build additional nuclear power plants, which goes against this global trend. This is seen as an irresponsible decision made when domestic high-level nuclear waste disposal decisions are insufficient.

Concerns about the safety of nuclear waste storage are growing due to continuous earthquake occurrences. The speaker emphasized, "There is no suitable place to store it for 100,000 years in unsafe locations," pointing out that considering the current earthquake risks and geological instability, there is no appropriate place to safely store nuclear waste for 100,000 years. This implies that the lack of long-term nuclear waste disposal facilities is a serious problem.

Residents' concerns about the installation of dry storage facilities are deepening. The speaker stated, "There are even concerns that installing dry storage facilities again could lead to long-term permanent storage later," raising the possibility that dry storage facilities could be transformed into long-term and permanent storage facilities, contrary to the initial promise of 40-60 years of operation. This reflects distrust in KHNP's failure to keep promises and anxiety about shifting the burden of nuclear waste to future generations.

It was argued that discussions on additional on-site high-level nuclear waste installation should cease, and national-level discussions on disposal sites should take precedence. The speaker emphasized, "I believe this issue can only proceed after national discussions on whether there is a safe place to install high-level nuclear waste are concluded." He argued that fundamental solutions, not the current temporary storage methods, require sufficient discussion and agreement on a national location for safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste first.

The press conference statement reader emphasized the danger of high-level radioactive waste, stating, "High-level radioactive waste is the world's most dangerous waste, requiring complete isolation from ecosystems for at least 100,000 years." This clearly demonstrates the long-term threat radioactive waste poses to humanity and ecosystems. Criticism was raised that KHNP's approach of pushing for on-site temporary storage facilities shows an irresponsible attitude that fails to properly recognize these dangers and relies only on short-term solutions. In particular, this waste emits radiation for hundreds of thousands of years, posing a serious threat not only to the current generation but also to future generations. Therefore, there is a growing call for urgent fundamental solutions.

The presenter asserted, "It is a wrongly known fact and a lie that we must continue to run nuclear power plants because we are short of electricity," refuting common perceptions about domestic power supply. Actual domestic power generation is in surplus, exceeding demand, and despite an environment where renewable energy, especially wind power, could be 활성화(activated), nuclear power generation is hindering it. This emphasizes that claims justifying nuclear power operation on the pretext of power shortages are contrary to fact, and it calls for transparency and rationality in energy policy.

Despite continuous interference and monitoring by KHNP, the event was recorded with Lee Jung-yoon, representative of the Nuclear Safety Monitoring group, attending as a panelist. The presenter stated, "From now on, we will start recording immediately and, upon returning to Seoul, will re-broadcast it without any omissions, even if it's past midnight," announcing that the on-site recording would be released as a delayed broadcast after returning to Seoul.