How Korea decides whether a 40-year-old reactor keeps running: the continued-operation process, step by step

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 13:51:00 +0900

On September 11, 2026, Hanbit unit 2 on Korea’s west coast reached the end of its 40-year operating license and stopped. Nothing had broken. The unit joined Kori 3, Kori 4 and its sister Hanbit 1 in a queue of reactors that are legally “operating” but cannot generate until the regulator says so, and that morning the regulator considered the first item in their file and put it off to a later meeting.

Kori 2 on EnergyNote

How Korea decides whether a 40-year-old reactor keeps running: the continued-operation process, step by step