The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in

Daejeon, South Korea Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology an ...

was established in 1959 as the sole professional research-oriented institute for

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and has rapidly built a reputation for research and development in various fields. In 1995 KAERI designed and constructed the nation's first multipurpose

research reactor Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritim ...

, HANARO based on the Canadian

MAPLE ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

design. KAERI is dedicated to finding a wide range of uses for atomic energy. As examples, KAERI developed the world's first

radiopharmaceutical Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicinal radiocompounds, are a group of pharmaceutical drugs containing radioactive isotopes. Radiopharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Radiopharmaceuticals emit radiation themselves, which is ...

"Milican injection" for treating

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. KAERI has made significant contributions to the nation's nuclear technology development. After Korea achieved self-reliance in nuclear core technologies, KAERI have transferred highly developed technologies to local industries for practical applications. The

Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS; ) in Daejeon, South Korea Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forest ...

(KINS), responsible for supporting the government in regulatory and licensing works, and the Nuclear Environment Technology Institute, responsible for low and medium level

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...

management, are also originally spin-offs from KAERI. KAERI established the present

KEPCO E&C KEPCO E&C (full name: KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company, INC., formerly: KOPEC) is a power plant design and engineering company in South Korea. It was established in 1975 as a public enterprise. KEPCO E&C engages in designing, engineering, ...

(full name: KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company, INC., formerly: KOPEC), responsible for not only the architect engineering works of

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

, but also for designing nuclear steam supply systems. KAERI also established the present Korea Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. (KNFC), responsible for designing and manufacturing PWR as well as

PHWR A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor that uses heavy water ( deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and neutron moderator. PHWRs frequently use natural uranium as fuel, but sometimes also use very low enriched uranium. The ...

fuels.

External links

KAERI website
{{authority control Nuclear power in South Korea Korea University of Science and Technology Nuclear organizations Research institutes in South Korea

See also

External links