South Korea will run a three-month public deliberation on the future role of nuclear power before completing its next national electricity-supply plan, with the government aiming to receive recommendations by December.
The Climate, Energy and Environment Ministry presented the process to the Cabinet on Tuesday. It plans to create a deliberation committee of up to 11 members drawn from fields including social science, science and technology, statistics, conflict management and energy. The ministry says people with direct nuclear-industry interests will not be appointed to the committee.
Citizens will study the issue before making recommendations
A citizen panel will receive background information and take part in structured discussions, while public forums and online submissions will provide additional channels for participation. A separate group of nuclear experts is expected to provide technical information for the citizen process. The government says the exercise is intended to examine the role of nuclear power rather than ask a simple yes-or-no question about building reactors.
The outcome is meant to feed into the 12th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand. That plan must account for expected growth in electricity consumption from large industrial projects, artificial-intelligence infrastructure and electric vehicles while also addressing grid stability and emissions targets.
The framing of the process is already under scrutiny
The design of the deliberation is already contested. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported criticism that the government's assumption of rising electricity demand and its previous emphasis on nuclear expansion could shape the process before citizen deliberation begins. The ministry says the committee will be structured to hear diverse views and that the recommendations will be combined with technical reviews of demand and the power grid.
The key checkpoints are the committee's membership, the information given to citizen participants, the scope of the final recommendation and how explicitly the government incorporates that recommendation into the electricity plan due after the process concludes.