President Moon Jae-in says on Oct. 22 that his government will accept the proposal of the public debate commission to resume construction on the Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear reactors, while maintaining his stance on changing the direction of the nation`s energy policy. (Korea.net DB)

By Yoon Sojung

Cheong Wa Dae announced on Oct. 22 that the government will restart construction on the Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear reactors in accordance with the recommendation made by the public debate commission. The presidential office also said that it will carry out a policy shift in terms of its energy policy without hesitation. 

In a statement released by Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Soo-hyun, President Moon said, “The three-month public debate has come to an end. The government will resume construction on the Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear reactors in line with the results of the public debate commission.” 

“The Korean citizens embodied the model of a mature democracy during the debate,” said the president.

“Citizen participants -- 471 in total -- expressed their views and listened to others’ opinions throughout the deliberation process and they finally reached a wise and sensible conclusion,” said President Moon.

“They also showed a model case of democracy-in-action by accepting the result, even if it`s different from their personal opinion,” said the president. 

Apart from the resumption of construction on the Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear reactors, President Moon also said that his administration will launch without delay a shift in the nation`s energy policy. He said that his government will work hard to increase the amount of natural gas and renewable energy used across the economy. 

President Moon added that, “Our government will establish and actively support a research center in the southeastern region of the country in order to prepare for decommissioning all our nuclear reactors and to take the lead in the global market for nuclear reactor decommissioning." 

***