(December 29, 2011) The Church in South Korea renewed calls on Monday for the government
to scrap nuclear energy after a state enterprise last week named the sites it wants
for two new power plants. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced on December
23 that it had chosen Samcheok city and Yeongdeok-gun County, both on the east coast,
as the sites of the plants. After an environmental evaluation, next year, KHNP will
submit an application to the government for final decision. The announcement was
immediately condemned by the Church and anti-nuclear activists in Samcheok, who took
to the streets of the city in protest. The No Nukes Samcheok Coalition said a growing
number of people are opposed to the plan and people’s opinions were not reflected
in the selection process. Father Paul Park Hong-pyo, a coalition spokesman, said:
“The disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant last March in Japan has turned
people against nuclear power.” After the Fukushima incident, just over half the population
was against the plan and that number had increased significantly since then. Wonju
diocese’s Committee for Justice and Peace called on the government to reject the application.
The committee said the government’s aim to increase the number of nuclear power plants
goes against growing global opposition to nuclear energy. South Korea has 21 nuclear
reactors and is building or planning 11 more, according to KHNP.