Reactor's 40-year design life expires

Extension review could take up to two years

Reactor No. 2 at the Hanbit nuclear power plant will halt operations Friday after completing its 40-year design life. Hanbit reactor No. 1 has already been offline since its own design life expired last December, so both reactors will now be at a standstill.

A view of Hanbit nuclear power plant's reactors No. 3 to No. 6 in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province. Whether the plant's reactors receive approval for continued operation has emerged as a key issue for the planned Honam semiconductor cluster. (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power)
A view of Hanbit nuclear power plant's reactors No. 3 to No. 6 in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province. Whether the plant's reactors receive approval for continued operation has emerged as a key issue for the planned Honam semiconductor cluster. (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power)

However, attention is turning to whether the two reactors will receive approval to keep running, as they have been floated as key power sources for the Honam semiconductor cluster the government is pushing to build.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said Hanbit reactor No. 2 will stop operating Friday as its design life expires. It will then undergo a regular inspection and scheduled preventive maintenance.

Hanbit reactor No. 2 received its operating license on Sept. 12, 1986, and began commercial operation on June 10, 1987. Applying the 40-year design life from the date of its operating license, Friday marks the end of its service life.

With its design life legally expired, Hanbit reactor No. 2 cannot resume operation until it receives approval for continued operation. Nuclear authorities must carry out regular inspections and safety assessments while awaiting a decision on whether to extend its service life.

Hanbit reactor No. 1, which received its operating license on Dec. 23, 1985, completed its design life last December and has remained offline since.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission will conduct sector-by-sector reviews over as long as two years before deciding whether to extend the reactors' service lives. Hanbit nuclear power plant has six reactors in total. Following reactors No. 1 and No. 2, reactor No. 3's design life will end in 2034, reactor No. 4's in 2035, reactor No. 5's in 2041 and reactor No. 6's in 2042.

Currently, four of South Korea's 26 operating reactors — including Hanbit reactors No. 1 and No. 2 — have completed their design lives and applied for continued operation, with reviews underway.

Continued operation has been approved for reactors that completed their design life on three previous occasions: Kori reactor No. 1 in 2008, Wolsong reactor No. 1 in 2015, and Kori reactor No. 2 last November.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com