SEOUL, May 7. South Korea on Tuesday began the decontamination process for the subsequent dismantling of the country's now defunct first commercial nuclear reactor, Kori-1, the agency reports. Yonhap, citing state-owned energy company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).
It is reported that the Unit 1 reactor at the Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan was finally shut down in June 2017 after approximately 40 years of operation since April 1978. 
KHNP said it had begun a chemical decontamination process to remove radioactive materials from the reactor. This is the first step to decommission it. The actual dismantling of KHNP still requires approval from the Nuclear Safety Commission.
As the agency notes, the company uses domestic technologies and equipment for the decontamination process, which is expected to allow South Korea to enter the global market for services for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities in the future.
«Successful dismantling of the power plant is of great importance to the industry ecosystem. The Kori-1 reactor project is expected to serve as a chance to improve the competitiveness of the industry,» a KHNP spokesman said.
It typically takes seven to eight years to complete the decommissioning process. However, officials said it was unclear how long it would take to dismantle Kori-1 due to some challenges associated with the construction of spent nuclear fuel storage facilities.