Nuclear reactors in S. Korea suffer numerous stoppages

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government said Monday that there were a total of 91 failures in operations of nuclear reactors in the country over the past 10 years due to mechanical glitches and other problems.

In a report to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the Gori-1 reactor, South Korea's oldest nuclear reactor, went offline due to an electrical malfunction in April this year.

Also, another reactor in the country reported three cases of stoppage this year due to mechanical and other problems, it said.

Atomic power plants are an important source of energy for South Korea. The country has 21 nuclear reactors and gets about 40 percent of its total electricity from the plants.

sam@yna.co.kr
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