South Korea to abandon nuclear power stations

SOUTH Korea will scrap nuclear energy in response to concerns over a Fukushima-style disaster and instead focus on renewable energy sources, the country’s president said yesterday. Moon Jae-in said he had scrapped plans to build more nuclear power plants, ending decades of reliance on the controversial energy source.

His decision marks the latest blow to the nuclear industry, after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and follows through on Mr Moon’s campaign pledge to reduce usage of coal and nuclear power. “We will abolish our nuclear-centred energy policy and move towards a nuclear-free era,” Mr Moon said at a ceremony marking the shutdown of the country’s oldest power plant, Kori 1, in Busan.

“So far South Korea’s energy policy pursued cheap prices and efficiency. But it’s time for a change... our awareness of the importance of the environment has changed.”