The Shin-Kori 4 reactor in Ulsan, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (image: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power)
SEOUL, April 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Shares of certain companies related to the extended operation of nuclear power plants are surging as the incoming government plans to reuse nuclear power plants that are currently scheduled to be retired.
Wednesday’s stock price for Hanshin Machinery Co., a company that produces air compressors for nuclear power plants, jumped by 5.21 percent from the previous day, closing at 52-week high of 10,100 won, according to the Korea Exchange.
Shares of similar companies also increased, including Haein Corp. and Hwacheon Machinery Co. with increases of 1.64 percent and 0.70 percent, respectively.
Hanshin Machinery has seen its share price double in a single month. The company’s market cap also jumped from 137.8 billion won to 327.7 billion won over the same period.
The rising stock prices are attributed to the recent announcement made by the transition team of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol that it will extend the operation of nuclear power plants that were previously scheduled to be decommissioned.
The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. submitted a safety assessment report on the extended operation of the Kori-2 nuclear power plant to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on April 5.
The nuclear reactor’s design life is scheduled to end in April next year.
In accordance with the incoming government’s vow to scrap the current Moon Jae-in administration’s nuclear phase-out policy, the nuclear power plants will see their operational life extended.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
