Restructuring Nuclear Industry for the Enhancement of Nuclear Power Plant Export Competitiveness

Carbon neutralization for the prevention of global warming and the energy security was manified by Ukraine War recognize again the role of nuclear energy in the world. International organization forecasts above 600 GW of nuclear power plants will be newly constructed within the year of 2050. While the competition between nuclear power plant export countries such as USA, France, Russia becomes more intense in recent, the competitiveness of Korean nuclear industry becomes more weaken due to the nuclear phase-out policy. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the current Korean nuclear industry structure has been maintaining the same structure established at the time of technology self reliance in the 1990s is inefficient compared with those of foreign industries variously changed for the demand of the nuclear market. Therefore, in this policy paper, the history of the development of nuclear industry and the issues of current nuclear industry were reviewed, and the strong and effective alternatives of reorganization of industry were proposed with the consideration of the current situation of Korean energy industry. Finally, the middle level holding company governs all nuclear business is proposed as the most desirable option.