Korean media revealed that a total loss of power occurred at the Kori Nuclear Plant Unit 1 in Busan, and that plant officials organized a deliberate cover-up. External power was lost, the emergency generator failed, and although power was restored in 12 minutes, supervisors ordered staff not to report the incident. It was later found that even government nuclear-safety officials stationed at the plant were not informed. Originally published in the Tokyo Shimbun, this article remains unforgettable to anyone who closely follows the news.

2016-01-05

The following article demonstrates what the so-called “safety” of Korean nuclear plants really looks like—despite Masayoshi Son’s assertions that Korean nuclear power is correct and superior.

Those who read newspapers thoroughly should remember having seen this report.

At the Kori Nuclear Plant Unit 1 in Busan, South Korea, a total loss of power occurred during inspection, and the incident was not reported to either the government or headquarters for more than a month.
Multiple Korean media outlets reported on the fifteenth that the plant director and on-site management had decided immediately after the accident to conceal it.
They feared criticism of the aging reactor and possible pursuit of responsibility, especially in light of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

External power supply was cut off, and the emergency generator also failed to operate.
The accident occurred at around 8:30 p.m. on February 9, and power was restored twelve minutes later.

The director and others held an emergency meeting and decided not to report the accident.
They instructed employees not to speak about it externally.
The operation log even recorded that “conditions were normal.”

“One year was approaching since the Fukushima accident, and if news of trouble at the aging Unit 1 were to spread, the repercussions would be enormous and burdensome,” a related official testified.

The unit is the oldest nuclear reactor in South Korea.
Its original thirty-year design life expired in 2007, and from the following year it began a ten-year extension of its operation.

Although four staff members from the government’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety are stationed at the plant, the accident occurred after all had gone home and was not communicated even in the following days.

This article originally appeared in the Tokyo Shimbun and was later reproduced online.