Article 1(Purpose) #
The purpose of this Act is to guarantee the right of citizens to know and to promote their trust in nuclear safety by prescribing matters concerning the disclosure and communication of information related to nuclear safety.
Article 2(Definitions) #
(1) The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
1. The term "nuclear safety information" means the following:
(a) Information on usage, handling, storage, processing, discharge, transport, disposal, or control of radioactive materials defined in subparagraph 5 of Article 2 of the Nuclear Safety Act or substances contaminated by such radioactive materials (hereinafter referred to as "radioactive materials, etc.");
(b) Information on the construction and operation of nuclear energy utilization facilities defined in subparagraph 20 of Article 2 of the Nuclear Safety Act (excluding nuclear reactors and relevant facilities for educational purposes under Article 30 of that Act; hereinafter referred to as "nuclear energy utilization facility");
(c) Information on safety management of radiation in the natural environment defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment, source materials defined in subparagraph 2 of that Article, by-products from processing defined in subparagraph 3 of that Article, and processed products defined in subparagraph 4 of that Article;
(d) Other information prescribed by Presidential Decree on research, development, production, usage, etc. of nuclear energy;
2. The term "nuclear safety information-related institution" means any of following institutions:
(a) Any person specified in Article 2 (1) 3 (a) through (g) of the Nuclear Liability Act (excluding institutions which have obtained permission for construction or operation of nuclear reactors and relevant facilities for educational purposes; hereinafter referred to as "nuclear licensee");
(b) A nuclear safety information sharing center under Article 5 (1);
(c) The Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control established pursuant to Article 6 of the Nuclear Safety Act;
(d) The Korea Foundation of Nuclear Safety established pursuant to Article 7-2 of the Nuclear Safety Act;
(e) The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety established pursuant to the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety Act;
3. The term "disclosure" means that the Government or a nuclear safety information-related institution allows access to nuclear safety information or delivers a copy or reproduction of such information in accordance with this Act, or makes public notice of or provides, etc. information through an information and communications network defined in subparagraph 10 of Article 2 of the Electronic Government Act (hereinafter referred to as "information and communications network");
4. The term "environs" means preventive protection action zones under Article 20-2 (1) 1 of the Act on Physical Protection and Radiological Emergency; provided, in cases of nuclear reactors and relevant facilities for research purposes, it means radiation emergency planning zones.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), the definitions of the terms used in this Act shall be governed by the Nuclear Safety Act, the Nuclear Liability Act, the Act on Physical Protection and Radiological Emergency, and the Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment.
Article 3(Relationship to other statutes) #
(1) This Act shall prevail over other statutes in regard to the disclosure of nuclear safety information.
(2) Except as provided in this Act, the Official Information Disclosure Act shall apply to the disclosure of nuclear safety information.
Article 4(Principle of information disclosure) #
The Government and nuclear safety information-related institutions shall disclose nuclear safety information that they retain and manage in a transparent and prompt manner.
Article 5(Nuclear Safety Information Sharing Center) #
(1) The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission established pursuant to Article 3 of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Nuclear Safety and Security Commission") may establish a nuclear safety information sharing center within the local government having jurisdiction over the relevant environs or may authorize such local government to designate an institution or organization equipped with necessary professionals and facilities as a nuclear safety information sharing center and operate such center, to efficiently disclose nuclear safety information.
(2) A nuclear safety information sharing center under paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as "information sharing center") shall conduct the following projects:
1. Collection, retention, and management of nuclear safety information;
2. Linkage, processing, and analysis of nuclear safety information;
3. Disclosure and provision of nuclear safety information;
4. Support for policies related to nuclear safety information and domestic and international cooperation therefor;
5. Support for the operation of a nuclear safety and security council established pursuant to Article 13;
6. Other projects deemed necessary by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission in relation to nuclear safety information.
(3) The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission may revoke the designation of an information sharing center or suspend all or part of its business operations for a fixed period of up to six months if it falls under any of the following cases; provided, in the case of subparagraph 1, the designation shall be revoked:
1. Where it has been designated by fraud or other improper means;
2. Where it ceases to meet the criteria for designation prescribed in paragraph (4);
3. Where it is deemed unfit for conducting business affairs as an information sharing center because it has violated this Act or any other statute or regulation.
(4) The criteria and procedures for the establishment of, or the designation and the revocation of designation, of an information sharing center, the operation of such center, and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
(5) The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission may fully or partially fund the expenses necessary for an information sharing center to perform the projects specified in the subparagraphs of paragraph (2) within the budget.
Article 6(Nuclear safety information subject to non-disclosure) #
(1) All information retained and managed by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and nuclear safety information-related institutions (hereinafter referred to as "nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc.") shall be subject to disclosure to the public; provided, any of the following nuclear safety information need not be disclosed:
1. Nuclear safety information on the national security, national defense, unification, diplomatic relations, etc. that is deemed likely to seriously undermine national interests, if disclosed;
2. Nuclear safety information that is deemed likely to significantly disrupt citizens' lives and bodily safety, if disclosed;
3. Nuclear safety information that is deemed likely to seriously undermine the legitimate interests of nuclear licensees, if disclosed, which falls under trade secrets defined in subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act;
4. Nuclear safety information containing personal information, such as names and resident registration numbers, which is deemed likely to infringe on the privacy or freedom of individuals, if disclosed; provided, any of the following nuclear safety information on individuals shall be excluded therefrom:
(a) Nuclear safety information that is made available for public perusal as prescribed by statutes or regulations;
(b) Nuclear safety information prepared or acquired by nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc., for the purpose of public announcement, which does not unjustly infringe on the privacy or freedom of individuals;
(c) Nuclear safety information prepared or acquired by nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc., the disclosure of which is deemed necessary for the public interest or individual rights relief;
(d) Names and positions of public officials who have performed nuclear safety information-related duties;
(e) Names and occupations of individuals to whom part of business affairs have been entrusted or commissioned by the State or local governments under statutes or regulations, the disclosure of which is necessary for the public interest.
(2) Where nuclear safety information specified in any subparagraph of paragraph (1) ceases to meet the detailed criteria for non-disclosure under paragraph (3), due to the lapse of a period, etc., nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc. shall disclose such nuclear safety information to the public.
Article 7(Collection, linkage, processing, and analysis of nuclear safety information) #
(1) The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (including persons entrusted with business affairs by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission pursuant to Article 14; hereafter in this Article the same shall apply) may collect, link, process, and analyze nuclear safety information retained and managed by nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc. to utilize such information for formulating policies for public safety related to nuclear energy, promoting research, compiling statistics, etc.
(2) The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission may provide research institutes, etc. with information collected, linked, processed, and analyzed pursuant to paragraph (1) for the promotion of academic research and the development of nuclear safety policies, as prescribed by Presidential Decree. In such cases, all or part of personal information shall be deleted or replaced so that the information is not personally identifiable, even combined with other information.
(3) No person who receives nuclear safety information pursuant to paragraph (2) shall use or divulge the relevant information for any purposes other than the purpose for which the information has been provided under paragraph (2).
(4) Other matters necessary for the collection, linkage, processing, analysis, etc. of nuclear safety information shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
Article 8(Methods for disclosure of nuclear safety information) #
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission shall determine and publicly notify methods for disclosure of nuclear safety information, including the following methods, so that citizens can easily access nuclear safety information disclosed by nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc.:
1. Disclosure through an information and communications network;
2. Disclosure through the establishment and operation of data rooms to nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc.;
3. Disclosure by telephone, mobile text message, fax, e-mail, etc.
Article 9(Provision of nuclear safety information to residents) #
(1) Nuclear safety information-related institutions, etc. shall provide nuclear safety information related to areas in which nuclear reactors defined in subparagraph 8 of Article 2 of the Nuclear Safety Act and related facilities defined in subparagraph 10 of that Article are located, to the residents of the relevant areas.
(2) Matters necessary for the types of nuclear safety information to be provided to residents of the relevant areas, the procedures for the provision thereof, etc. shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
Article 10(Disclosure of report on protective measures for prevention of radiation damage in nuclear energy utilization facilities) #
(1) Upon receipt of a report on measures for the prevention of radiation damage in nuclear energy utilization facilities from a nuclear licensee under Article 92 of the Nuclear Safety Act, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission shall disclose it as prescribed by Presidential Decree. <Amended on Jan. 23, 2024>
(2) Where a nuclear licensee has reported to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on measures for the prevention of radiation damage in nuclear energy utilization facilities under Article 92 of the Nuclear Safety Act, they shall disclose the relevant matters to the public as prescribed by the Presidential Decree. <Added on Jan. 23, 2024>
Article 11(Retention of nuclear safety information) #
When a nuclear safety information-related institution retains nuclear safety information, it shall formulate and implement an internal control plan and take the following technical and administrative measures in accordance with the standards prescribed by Presidential Decree in order to prevent the loss, theft, leakage, fabrication, falsification, or destruction of nuclear safety information and to ensure the security of nuclear safety information:
1. Installation and operation of an access control device, such as an intrusion prevention system, to block illegal access to nuclear safety information;
2. Measures to prevent fabrication and falsification of access records related to nuclear safety information;
3. Security measures using encryption technology, etc. that can safely store and transmit nuclear safety information;
4. Measures to prevent security incidents caused by computer viruses, including installation and operation of antivirus software;
5. Other protective measures necessary to ensure the security of nuclear safety information.
Article 12(Prohibited acts) #
No person shall engage in any of the following acts or have a third party engage therein, in relation to nuclear safety information:
1. Divulging, fabricating, falsifying, or destroying nuclear safety information;
2. Obstructing the collection or disclosure of nuclear safety information;
3. Disclosing false nuclear safety information to the public.
Article 13(Establishment of nuclear safety council) #
(1) In order to share and communicate nuclear safety information with local governments having jurisdiction over the environs and the residents of the relevant area, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission shall organize and operate a nuclear safety council (hereinafter referred to as "council") joined by the relevant Si/Gun/Gu (Gu means an autonomous Gu; hereinafter referred to as "Si/Gun/Gu") or the Special Metropolitan City, Metropolitan City, Special Self-Governing City, Do, or Special Self-Governing Province having jurisdiction over the relevant Si/Gun/Gu, and the representative of the residents, etc.
(2) Where two or more Sis/Guns/Gus have jurisdiction over the environs, a council may be integrated in consideration of the area ratio of the local governments having jurisdiction over such environs, etc.
(3) A council may request a nuclear safety information-related institution to provide and explain nuclear safety information in relation to an area in which a nuclear reactor and relevant facilities are located. In such cases, Article 6 shall apply to the provision of nuclear safety information.
(4) Matters necessary for the organization, functions, and operation, etc. of councils shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
Article 14(Entrustment of business affairs) #
(1) Among the business affairs of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission under this Act, the following business affairs may be entrusted to an information sharing center or a related specialized institution deemed to have expertise in the management of nuclear safety information:
1. Collection, linkage, processing, and analysis of nuclear safety information under Article 7;
2. Retention of nuclear safety information under Article 11;
3. Other business affairs prescribed by Presidential Decree in relation to nuclear safety information.
(2) Where the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission entrusts business affairs pursuant to paragraph (1), it shall publicly notify the details of such affairs entrusted and an institution entrusted.
(3) The executive officers and employees of an information sharing center or a related specialized agency engaging in the business affairs entrusted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deemed public officials for purposes of applying Articles 127 and 129 through 132 of the Criminal Act.
Article 15(Holding public hearings) #
When the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission formulates important policies related to nuclear safety, including a comprehensive plan for nuclear safety and security under Article 3 of the Nuclear Safety Act, it may hold a public hearing to seek opinions of interested persons, citizens, and relevant experts and shall reflect their opinions presented at a public hearing on such policies, if deemed reasonable.
Article 16(Obligations of persons engaging in nuclear safety information processing) #
No person who engages or engaged in the processing of nuclear safety information at a nuclear safety information-related institution in accordance with this Act shall divulge nuclear safety information that he or she has or had learned in the course of performing his or her duties to any other person or misappropriate such information.
Article 17(Prohibition of use of similar names) #
(1) No person, other than an information sharing center under this Act, shall use the name "nuclear safety information sharing center" or any similar name.
(2) No person, other than a council under this Act, shall use the name "nuclear safety and security council" or any similar name.
(3) No person, other than a nuclear safety information sharing center or a nuclear safety council, shall place any label or advertisement misleading him or her as an information sharing center or a council.
Article 18(Reporting) #
When the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission deems it necessary for the enforcement of this Act, it may order a nuclear safety information-related institution to report on its business affairs concerning the disclosure of nuclear safety information or to submit related data.
Article 19(Penalty provisions) #
(1) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won:
1. A person who conducts any act specified in the subparagraphs of Article 12 or causes a third person to do so;
2. A person who divulges to any other party or misappropriates nuclear safety information, in violation of Article 16.
(2) A person who misappropriates or divulges nuclear safety information provided to him or her in violation of Article 7 (3) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than two years or by a fine not exceeding 20 million won.
(3) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won:
1. A person who fails to take measures to make the relevant information personally unidentifiable even combined with other information, by deleting or replacing all or part of personal information, in violation of Article 7 (2);
2. A person who fails to give a report or to submit data or who gives a false report or submits false data, in violation of Article 18.
Article 20(Joint penalty provisions) #
Where the representative of a corporation or an agent or employee of, or any other person employed by, the corporation or an individual commits any violations described in Article 19 (1) through (3), in conducting the business affairs of the corporation or individual, the corporation or individual shall be punished by a fine prescribed in those provisions in addition to punishing the violators accordingly; provided, this shall not apply where such corporation or individual has not been negligent in giving due attention to and supervision over the relevant business affairs to prevent such violations.
Article 21(Administrative fines) #
(1) Any of the following persons shall be subject to an administrative fine not exceeding 10 million won:
1. A person who fails to provide information without good cause, in violation of Article 9 (1);
2. A person who fails to take technological and administrative measures to ensure the security of nuclear safety information, in violation of Article 11.
(2) Any of the following persons shall be subject to an administrative fine not exceeding five million won:
1. A person who uses the name "nuclear safety information sharing center" or "nuclear safety council" or any similar name, in violation of Article 17 (1) or (2);
2. A person who places any label or advertisement misleading him or her as an information sharing center or a council, in violation of Article 17 (3).
(3) Administrative fines under paragraph (1) shall be imposed and collected by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission as prescribed by Presidential Decree.