Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enhance the climate resilience of nuclear power plant designs under construction, reinforcing safety measures against extreme weather events and evolving climate risks.
KHNP announced that it held a joint SEED (Site and External Events Design) workshop with the IAEA from June 26 to 30 at the Lahan Hotel in Gyeongju, South Korea. The program is an international safety review and advisory initiative that evaluates whether nuclear power plant sites and designs are adequately prepared to withstand external hazards such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons, and sea-level rise.
SEED is a structured safety review framework operated by the IAEA, and has increasingly focused in recent years on how climate change-driven shifts in natural disaster patterns should be incorporated into nuclear plant design and safety standards.
Around 30 participants took part in the workshop, including KHNP officials from its civil engineering and nuclear construction divisions, as well as an IAEA expert team composed of eight specialists in seismology, structural engineering, and climate-related risk assessment. The expert panel conducted on-site reviews of construction activities in Korea.
A key focus of the review was KHNP’s climate-adaptive design approach for the Shin-Hanul Units 3 and 4 nuclear power plants, which are currently under construction. The experts examined whether design assumptions reflecting long-term climate scenarios—such as rising sea temperatures, sea-level rise, extreme rainfall, and stronger typhoons—are properly aligned with international safety standards.
KHNP stated that it integrates anticipated external hazards over the full lifecycle of nuclear facilities into its design process, including site selection, structural engineering, and disaster prevention systems. The company emphasized that this approach is intended to ensure long-term operational safety under increasingly volatile climate conditions.
The utility also continues to share its climate-resilient nuclear design practices through international academic conferences and technical forums, including the IAEA SEED program and the SMiRT (International Association for Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology) conference, contributing to global standard-setting efforts.
KHNP and the IAEA have previously collaborated on similar safety reviews. Following the 2017 Gyeongju earthquake, SEED assessments were conducted for the Wolseong and Shin-Wolseong nuclear plants. The latest review focuses on Shin-Hanul Units 3 and 4, which were restarted after a suspension period and resumed construction following regulatory approvals in 2023 and 2024. The units are scheduled for completion in 2032 and 2033, respectively.
Industry observers note that the collaboration highlights a growing trend of aligning nuclear safety assessments with international benchmarks on a continuous basis, particularly as climate change becomes a more significant factor in infrastructure design.
