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South Korea is the world's fifth-biggest user of nuclear power,
but has yet to find a permanent solution for its spent nuclear
fuel, with temporary sites at individual nuclear plants likely
to start to fill up from 2019.
The Public Engagement Commission, an independent body that
advises the government on nuclear issues, said Seoul should
select a domestic site by 2020 for an underground laboratory
that could conduct safety checks and provide temporary storage.
The facility could become the site for a long-term storage
facility, which would bury the country's nuclear waste 500
meters (1,640 ft) underground and start operations from 2051.
The commission's recommendations, which are subject to
parliamentary hearings, will be given to the country's energy
minister.
Public trust in nuclear energy in South Korea has been
undermined by a 2012 scandal over the supply of reactor parts
with fake security certificates and the 2011 Fukushima crisis in
Japan.
Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd, owned by state-run utility
Korea Electric Power Corp, operates 23 nuclear reactors
supplying a third of the country's electricity. It plans to
build another 13 reactors by 2029.
The reactors currently produce around 750 tonnes of spent fuel a
year.
South Korea is unable to reprocess spent fuel under a civil
nuclear pact with the United States, although an agreement with
Washington in April opened the way for easier movement of spent
fuel to a third country for disposal.
Seoul last December authorized the start-up of an underground
storage facility for low- and medium-level radioactive waste
such as contaminated clothing and tools.
(Reporting by Meeyoung Cho; Editing by Richard Pullin)
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