173-14 Nuclear waste disposal in South Korea: Program status and R&D

Session: Geologic Energy Resources and Storage for Now and the Future

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In South Korea, 26 nuclear reactors are currently in operation, generating about 30% of the nation’s electricity. Nuclear power generation produces high-level radioactive waste (HLW), including spent nuclear fuel. In March 2025, the Special Act on the Management of HLW was enacted by the National Assembly, and the Korean government is preparing to select a site for a deep geological repository (DGR) for HLW. Crystalline rock, such as granite, is being considered as the host rock for the DGR in Korea due to its favorable geological characteristics. If nuclides from HLW were to leak from the repository, one of the major pathways to the biosphere would be groundwater flow, which in crystalline rock is strongly influenced by fractures. To better understand this, we have been conducting studies using a small underground research tunnel, called KURT, located in granite. These studies focus on how to investigate the hydrogeological properties of fractured rock, how to mathematically conceptualize these properties, how to simulate groundwater flow and solute transport in fractured rock, and how to incorporate these findings into the safety assessment of the DGR. The results of this research are expected to contribute to the site selection process for the DGR.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-7724

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