ACT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMISSION

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Act is to protect people from risks of radioactive disasters in generation and use of nuclear energy and contribute to public safety and environmental conservation by establishing the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

Article 2(Principle of operation) #

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission shall maintain independence and impartiality, prepare measures necessary for safety management (hereinafter referred to as "safety management of nuclear energy") in research, development, generation, and use of nuclear energy (hereinafter referred to as "use of nuclear energy"), and endeavor to perform such measures.

Article 3(Establishment of Commission) #

(1) The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Commission") shall be established under the control of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea to carry out affairs regarding the safety of nuclear energy. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

(2) The Commission shall be deemed a central administrative agency under Article 2 of the Government Organization Act; provided, Article 18 of the Government Organization Act shall not apply to the following: <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

1. Matters regarding the permit, re-permit, authorization, approval, registration, revocation, etc. in regard to users of nuclear energy under subparagraph 5 of Article 12;

2. Matters regarding the election of executives of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and the appointment of its president under Articles 9 (4) and 11 (2) of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety Act;

3. Matters regarding the approval of executives of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control under Article 6 (5) of the Nuclear Safety Act;

4. Other matters specified by Presidential Decree as necessary for the guarantee of independence in safety management of nuclear energy.

Article 4(Composition of Commission) #

(1) The Commission shall be comprised of nine members, including the Commission Chairperson, and the Commission Chairperson and one Commission member shall be standing members. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

(2) The Commission Chairperson shall be a public official in political service. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10 of the Government Organization Act, standing members shall serve as government delegates. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

Article 5(Appointment and commissioning of Commission members) #

(1) Commission members shall be appointed or commissioned from among persons who have extensive knowledge and experience in the safety of nuclear energy, and the commission shall consist of persons from every relevant field, such as nuclear energy, environment, public health, medical service, science and technology, public safety, law, humanities, and social science, which can contribute to the safety of nuclear energy. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

(2) The Commission Chairperson shall be appointed by the President at the request of the Prime Minister, four Commission members including standing members shall be appointed or commissioned by the President at the request of the Commission Chairperson, and the other four members shall be appointed or commissioned by the President on the recommendation of the National Assembly. <Added on Mar. 23, 2013>

(3) Matters necessary for the appointment or commissioning of Commission members and other matters regarding the composition of the Commission shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

[Title Amended on Mar. 23, 2013]

Article 6(Chairperson) #

(1) The Commission Chairperson shall represent the Commission, preside over Commission meetings, and have overall control over administrative affairs within his or her remit.

(2) If necessary, the Commission Chairperson may attend a meeting of the State Council to express his or her opinions and may recommend the Prime Minister to present a legislative bill on administrative affairs within his or her remit.

(3) The Commission Chairperson may attend a meeting of the National Assembly to express his or her opinions on administrative affairs within his or her remit and may attend a meeting of the National Assembly to report or to answer questions when the National Assembly demands him or her to do so.

(4) If the Commission Chairperson is unable to perform his or her duties due to unavoidable causes, a Commission member who is a standing member shall act on behalf of the Commission Chairperson, and if all standing members are unable to perform their duties due to unavoidable causes, one of the Commission members designated in advance by the Committee shall act on behalf of the Commission Chairperson. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

(5) If the Commission Chairperson violates the Constitution of the Republic of Korea or any Act in performing his or her duties, the National Assembly may resolve to impeach him or her.

Article 7(Term of office for commission members) #

(1) The term of office for each commission member shall be three years, which may be renewed only once.

(2) When a vacancy occurs in the membership the Commission, a new Commission member shall be appointed or commissioned, and his or her term of office shall be counted from the date on which he or she is appointed or commissioned. <Added on Dec. 19, 2017>

Article 8(Guarantee of status) #

(1) Except for the following cases, no Commission member shall be dismissed from office against his or her will:

1. Where a Commission member is unable to perform his or her duties for a long period due to mental or physical disorder;

2. Where a Commission member is disqualified on a ground under Article 10;

3. Where a Commission member breaches any of his or her official duties under this Act or any other Act;

4. Where a Commission member derives any unjust enrichment in connection with the administrative affairs within the remit of the Commission under this Act or any other Act.

(2) No Commission member shall be subject to any unjust instruction or interference.

Article 9(Prohibition of concurrent holding of office) #

(1) No standing member shall engage in any business activity for profit other than his or her public service or hold any other office concurrently.

(2) No Commission member shall participate in political activities.

(3) Necessary matters regarding the limitations on the business activities for profit under paragraph (1) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 10(Grounds for disqualification) #

(1) Any of the following persons shall become a Commission member: <Amended on Aug. 27, 2019; Oct. 22, 2024>

1. A person who falls under any subparagraph of Article 33 of the State Public Officials Act;

2. A person who has been expelled in accordance with a resolution on impeachment;

3. A member of a party under Article 22 of the Political Parties Act;

4. A person who is currently working as an executive officer or employee (excluding teaching staff) of any of the following institutions, or a person for whom three years have not elapsed from the date of retirement in any of such positions therefrom:

(a) An institution that has obtained a permit in accordance with Article 10 (1) or 20 (1) of the Nuclear Safety Act;

(b) An institution that has obtained a permit in accordance with Article 30 (1) or 30-2 (1) of the Nuclear Safety Act;

(c) An institution that has obtained a permit in accordance with Article 35 (1) or 39-4 (1) of the Nuclear Safety Act;

(d) An institution that has obtained a permit in accordance with Article 63 (1) of the Nuclear Safety Act.

5. A person who is currently conducting, or has conducted a research and development task (excluding national research and development projects under the Framework Act on Science and Technology) or any other project entrusted by an institution specified in the items of subparagraph 4 in an amount equal to at least 10 million won during the preceding three years.

(2) If a Commission member falls under any subparagraph of paragraph (1), he or she shall be dismissed from office automatically.

(3) The Commission may request that the institutions specified in the items of subparagraph 4 submit relevant data or materials for determining whether a Commission member shall be disqualified for any reason mentioned in subparagraph 4 or 5 of paragraph (1). In such cases, the institutions shall comply with such request unless there is a compelling reason not to do so. <Added on Aug. 27, 2019>

Article 11(Administrative Affairs of Commission) #

(1) The administrative affairs within the remit of the Commission shall be as follows:

1. Matters regarding the safety management of nuclear energy;

2. Matters regarding research and development for the safety management of nuclear energy;

3. Other matters specified by this Act or any other Act as administrative affairs of the Commission.

(2) Further details of administrative affairs of the Commission under paragraph (1) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 12(Matters subject to deliberation and resolution by Commission) #

The Commission shall deliberate on and determine the following matters among administrative affairs within its remit:

1. Synthesization and coordination of matters regarding the safety management of nuclear energy;

2. Matters regarding the establishment of comprehensive plans for the safety of nuclear energy under Article 3 of the Nuclear Safety Act;

3. Matters regarding the regulation of nuclear materials and nuclear reactors;

4. Matters regarding the defense against hazards caused by radioactive exposure in the use of nuclear energy;

5. Matters regarding the permit, re-permit, authorization, approval, registration, revocation, etc. in regard to users of nuclear energy;

6. Matters regarding measures against prohibited activities of users of nuclear energy and the imposition of penalty surcharges;

7. Matters regarding estimation of and an allocation plan for expenses for the safety management of nuclear energy;

8. Matters regarding surveys, tests, research, and development in regard to the safety management of nuclear energy;

9. Matters regarding fostering and training of researchers and engineers for the safety management of nuclear energy;

10. Matters regarding the safety management of radioactive waste;

11. Matters regarding countermeasures against radioactive disasters;

12. Matters regarding international cooperation for the safety of nuclear energy;

13. Matters regarding the formulation and execution of the budget of the Commission;

14. Matters regarding the enactment, amendment, and repeal of relevant Acts, subordinate statutes, and the Commission rules;

15. Matters specified by this Act or other Acts as matters subject to deliberation and resolution by the Commission.

Article 13(Meetings) #

(1) A meeting of the Commission shall be convened by the Commission Chairperson when two or more Commission members so request; provided, the Commission Chairperson may convene a meeting in his or her sole discretion.

(2) A meeting of the Commission shall adopt a resolution by an affirmative vote of the majority of incumbent members.

(3) Any Commission member may propose an agenda item.

(4) Meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public; provided, in any of the following cases, a meeting may not be open to the public by resolution of the Commission: <Amended on Dec. 1, 2015>

1. Where national security is feared to be harmed;

2. Where details of a meeting include any matter classified as a secret or restricted from publication in accordance with other statutes;

3. Where it is deemed that any detail of a meeting is feared to injure the reputation or legitimate interests of any individual, corporation, or organization;

4. Where details are related to the supervision, auditing, personnel management, etc. of the Commission, and if made public, it is feared to cause considerable trouble to fair execution of business.

(5) Deleted. <Dec. 1, 2015>

(6) Other necessary matters regarding the operation of meetings of the Commission shall be prescribed by the Commission rules.

Article 13-2(Preparation of minutes of meeting) #

(1) The Commission shall prepare and preserve minutes and recording of its meetings.

(2) Minutes of a meeting shall be prepared in the manner of stenography.

(3) Minutes of a meeting shall be published by the date of the next meeting unless an emergency meeting is convened after the closure of the relevant meeting or other special causes arise.

(4) No details of minutes and recording of a meeting shall be deleted, and where comments are made to revise the wording of a statement or to withdraw it, such comments shall be recorded in the relevant minutes.

(5) Other matters necessary for the preparation and preservation of minutes and recording of a meeting shall be prescribed by the Commission rules.

[This Article Added on Dec. 1, 2015]

Article 13-3(Observing meeting) #

(1) Any person who intends to observe a meeting of the Commission may attend a meeting as an observer after obtaining permission from the Commission Chairperson.

(2) The Commission Chairperson may order any observer to leave the meeting room if necessary to maintain order.

[This Article Added on Dec. 1, 2015]

Article 14(Exclusion, challenge, evasion of Commission members) #

(1) If a Commission member falls under any of the following subparagraphs, he or she shall be excluded from performance of his or her duties:

1. If a Commission member or a person who is or was his or her spouse is a party to the case at issue or is a joint right holder or an obligor in the case at issue;

2. If a Commission member is or was a relative of a party to the case at issue;

3. If a Commission member served as a witness or an expert witness in the case at issue;

4. If a Commission member is or was involved as the agent of a party to the case at issue;

5. If a Commission member was involved in the disposition or inaction that is the case at issue.

(2) The Commission shall determine exclusion at its discretion or at the request of a party to the case at issue.

(3) If grounds exist to believe that it is impractical to expect impartiality from a Commission member in deliberation and resolution, a party to the case at issue may file a challenge, and the Commission shall make a decision thereon by resolution.

(4) A Commission member may voluntarily evade the case at issue if he or she has a ground under paragraph (1) or (3).

Article 15(Establishment of special committee) #

(1) If it is necessary to seek working-level advice on administrative affairs of the Commission, carry out preliminary review on matters subject to deliberation and resolution, or efficiently carry out administrative affairs delegated by the Commission, the Commission may establish a special committee under its jurisdiction.

(2) Necessary matters regarding the composition and operation of a special committee under paragraph (1) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 16(Annual report) #

(1) The Commission shall submit a report on the Commission's performance of affairs for each fiscal year to the National Assembly within three months after the end of each fiscal year.

(2) The Commission shall publish the report under paragraph (1); provided, the Commission may opt not to publish by resolution, if there is a reasonable ground to believe that publishing the report is not proper.

Article 17(Secretariat) #

(1) The Commission shall establish the secretariat to handle administrative affairs.

(2) The secretariat shall employ one secretary general and employees as necessary, and a Commission member who is a standing member holds the concurrent office of the secretary general. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013>

(3) Other matters necessary for the organization and operation of the secretariat shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 18(Duty of integrity) #

A non-pubic official member of the Committee and a member of the special committees under Article 15 shall not receive money, goods, or any other benefits from a person who engages in a business related to nuclear energy which is subject to deliberation or regulation in accordance with this Act. <Amended on Aug. 27, 2019>

Article 19(Penalty provisions) #

A person who violates Article 18 shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than 10 years. <Amended on Oct. 15, 2014>