The Shin-Kori 4 reactor in Ulsan, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (image: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power)
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s industrial ministry said Wednesday it plans to offer a second batch of low-interest loans worth 150 billion won (US$113.6 million) to support nuclear energy firms, which suffered an earnings cut following the previous administration’s nuclear phaseout policy.
The loan program was initiated in response to the declining sales of the country’s nuclear energy industry, which reached 21.6 trillion won in 2021, falling sharply from 27.5 trillion won tallied in 2016, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.
Under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, South Korea decided to gradually reduce the use of nuclear energy and instead expand reliance on sustainable sources, including solar power.
Over the period, the number of employees in the sector also fell from 37,000 to 35,000, the ministry added.
The current government, which launched in May last year, has been actively pushing to revive the country’s nuclear energy industry, reversing the phaseout policy.
South Korea rolled out the first batch of 50 billion won in March.
“Through the second batch of funding, we hope to ease the financial challenges of more nuclear energy firms and add vitality to the industry,” the ministry said in a statement.
(Yonhap)
