President Moon Jae-in on Sunday said that the government will quickly resume the construction of two nuclear reactors as recommended by the deliberation committee, while strengthening safety regulations and developing renewable energy technologies.

On Friday, the commission for deliberating on the fate of Shin Kori-5 and Shin Kori-6 reactors announced that 59.5 percent of a 471-member jury supported the resumption of the project.

The works on the reactors had been suspended by Moon, who hopes to take South Korea away from nuclear power, and the commission was launched to decide through public deliberation whether to resume construction or to terminate the project.

The reactors were about 30 percent complete before their construction was suspended in July. About 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) had already been spent on the project.

“Nuclear power plant safety standards will be strengthened so that residents (of concerned areas) can rest at ease,” Moon said in a statement, saying that several million people reside within a 30-kilometer radius of nuclear power facilities in the Gyeongsang provinces.

He added that his administration will root out corruption from the nuclear power industry, and continue to execute the plans for veering away from nuclear power and to increase the use of renewable sources.

“Plans for new nuclear power plants will be stopped, and once it is confirmed that energy supply is stable, the operations of Wolseong 1 reactor will be stopped.”

Wolseong 1 reactor was completed in 1983. The reactor was brought to a halt in 2012, but operations resumed in 2015 after the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission deemed it fit for operation. The Seoul Administrative Court, however, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs fighting the decision in February.

“Even then, four nuclear reactors will go into operation during the current government. The number of nuclear reactors will begin to drop from the next government,” Moon said.

“The government will spur on expansion of (the use of) natural gas, and renewable energy (sources) to enable the next administration to continue the trend of nuclear-free (energy policies).”

Moon went on to say that a research institute specializing in deconstructing nuclear power plants will be established in the southeast region to prepare for future needs, and to expand into overseas markets for related services.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)