- P-ISSN2287-1608
- E-ISSN2287-1616
- KCI
ISSN : 2287-1608
Technological Catching-up of Nuclear Power Plant in Korea: The Case of OPR1000
Young-Joon Lee (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Abstract
This paper presents how Korea succeeded in developing an indigenous nuclear power plant model over fifty years. Long-lasting national R&D for technical progress and the Korean government for managerial process were the two pillars in the build-up of indigenous Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) technological capabilities. The concept of technological capabilities is used to examine its evolutionary process with a qualitative and longitudinal approach. The government had a developing country ambition to formulate a strategic plan for technical self-reliance on nuclear power plant while establishing the country's institutions and organization structure for the plan. Under the government leadership, it was national R&D that led to the resolution of a good number of technological problems, efficiently, by absorbing imported technologies and effectively adapting them to local circumstances.
- keywords
- Technological catching-up, nuclear power plant, Korea, government policy, nuclear R&D, OPR1000
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