By Sohn JiAe
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in called the permanent shutdown of the nation’s first-ever nuclear reactor, Kori-1, the "start of a journey to becoming a nuclear-free nation,” as he attended a ceremony to mark the closure, in Busan on June 19.

Celebrating the permanent shutdown of the 40-year-old nuclear reactor, which first came on line in 1978, President Moon noted that, “Starting today, our nation will hopefully come up with new common ground in terms of energy policies for the future.”

“Elements that might pose any threat to the lives, safety and health of the people should be gotten rid of in the policies that we make,” said the president. “An era of clean energy that puts first the safety of the people is what our energy policies must pursue,” he added.



President Moon also stressed, “The new administration will make securing the safety of nuclear reactors a matter of life and death for the nation.”

He continued, “The government will engage more actively in fostering clearer and safer sources of energy, such as new and renewable energies and liquefied natural gas (LNG). We will also make an energy industry associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a new growth engine for the national economy.”

The president also mentioned that, “The shutdown of the Kori-1 nuclear facility gives us a chance to further develop the industry of dismantling nuclear plants, too. In addition, we will fund the establishment of related research institutes across the southeastern part of the nation, so as to develop such nuclear dismantling skills.”

jiae5853@korea.kr