Korea opens public survey on nuclear power's role in new energy plan

South Korea's environment ministry said Monday that a committee preparing a public debate on nuclear power has begun a nationwide survey to choose 300 citizens who will deliberate on the role and share of nuclear energy in the country's next long-term electricity plan.

The Nuclear Power Public Debate Committee, chaired by Eun Jae-ho, said the basic survey of public opinion will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 14, polling 15,000 people aged 18 and older across the country. Respondents will be reached on randomly generated mobile and landline numbers, a method known as random digit dialing, with quotas set to match the population's regional, gender and age composition. The calls will be made every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., including weekends.

Korea Efficiency Consulting, a specialist polling firm selected by the committee, is conducting the survey. Beyond basic questions on region, gender and age, it asks whether respondents are aware of the public debate, what they think about future electricity demand and nuclear power, and whether they want to take part. From those who express interest, the committee will draw 300 people at random, again balanced by region, gender and age. The citizen panel will study briefing materials and take part in online learning before three days of deliberations from Dec. 11 to 13.

The exercise is meant to settle the role of nuclear power ahead of the 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand through deliberation rather than a yes-or-no contest. The government has said it will incorporate the committee's recommendations, alongside its review of supply and grid operations, into that plan, with the government draft due by the end of the year.

The committee's recommendations are advisory and go to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. Public debate under the theme "What kind of electricity will we live on" will run about three months, with the committee's recommendation due in December. Its sub-theme is the role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand.

Four issues are excluded from the deliberations: whether individual reactors continue operating, which falls to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission; individual nuclear projects whose sites are fixed; the government's renewable energy deployment targets; and the siting of facilities in specific regions. The committee also said its briefing materials will present the arguments and evidence of both the environmental and nuclear sides in the same volume and structure, with sources cited for each claim.

Eun framed the exercise as a search for common ground on a divisive subject. "This public debate is a process of finding, together with the public, the role and share of nuclear power in preparing for future electricity demand," he said, adding that he hopes it marks a starting point for moving the nuclear question away from partisan and ideological framing.

Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan said the government should not hear only one side's voice or simply ask for a show of hands in deciding nuclear power's role. The committee asked anyone who receives a survey call to stay on the line through the full set of questions, and said responses will be used only for statistical purposes. The survey results will be released together with the final outcome after deliberations end, so they do not influence the citizen panel.