HEADLINE: Electric Power Affiliates Helping to Develop Nuclear Self-Reliance (I) BODY: The Korea Power Engineering Co., Inc. - Leading the way in new power plantdesign. The Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc., KOPEC, is a pioneer and the leading force in engineering and consulting services for electric power projects in the Republic of Korea. Since its foundation in 1975 as an integral part of the national effort to foster self-reliance in executing the electric power development program, KOPEC has been involved in all of the nation's nuclear power projects and most major thermal and hydro-electric power projects, in progressively varying degrees of work scope. As a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation, KOPEC has been in a unique position to carry out a vast number of projects as directed by the government power utility. These rich and intensive project experiences, plus daring investments in training and technology research and development, have ledKOPEC to experience a remarkably fast growth and the early achievement of self-reliance goals in both nuclear and conventional power projects. The development of a standardized power plant design well signifies KOPEC's important role in the Korean electric industry. It has now been brought to fruition in the design of the 1000MW Pressurized Water Reactor Ulchin Nuclear Units 3 and 4, and the 500MW coal-fired Poryong Units 3 and 4 power projects, both of which KOPEC is the prime architect-engineer. Thanks to twenty years' long intensive experience with the domestic power industry, which has been growing at a dramatic rate, the 1,800 professionals in KOPEC are now prepared to lead constructors and operators toward a world where the needs of society, the environment and technology best harmonize. In performing various project tasks, the Nuclear Projects Division is fully supported by the Engineering and Technology Division, which is the company's central pool of experts, up-to-date engineering tools, information and data. Alltechnical support comes through various engineering and technical departments which form the full spectrum of expertise required for nuclear power projects, and KOPEC's own Power Engineering Research Institute (PERI). KOPEC has some 1,800 employees, 80 percent of which are engineers, including some 700 fully engaged in nuclear power projects. Over 80 percent of KOPEC's employees hold various university degrees, including 400 master's and 12 doctorates. KOPEC's in-house continuing education program, the nation's first of its kind, has so far produced some 250 master's degree equivalents in various technical disciplines. About 10 percent of KOPEC's engineers have Professional Engineer licenses from home and/or abroad, while others also have various levels of qualification licenses from the Korean government. Lyu Yong-soo, executive director of KOPEC, said, "KOPEC in fact is a company that has far advanced in terms of 'globalization'," adding that over 300 of its employees were sent abroad for training in the period of the 1970s and 80s. With such a background, Lyu said, KOPEC is exerting much effort to expand business operations abroad. He added that China, where it is estimated that there will be a demand increase of 15 million KW annually, is actively making many contacts with Korean company officials for its nuclear power development. Lyu added that if financial support can be met for the Chinese nuclear development program, there will certainly be more opportunities open for Korean companies in the business to take part in the projects. The services offered by KOPEC cover the full range of power plant architectural engineering. KOPEC handles major assignments, as well as limited design projects and specialized studies for specific engineering problems. Beginning from a very limited scope of studies and design tasks in late 1970s, KOPEC's participation in fossil fuel and hydroelectric power projects rapidly increased from the middle 1980s. A significant step taken in this periodwas the development of the Korean standard 500 MW class power plant design for bituminous coal- and/ or heavy oil-fired power plant, applying the European style turbine bypass system for load cycling and two shift operation using supercritical pressure, single-reheat, once through boiler. This standard designconcept was first applied to Poryong Thermal Power Plant Units 3 and 4 starting in 1986 Based on the success of this initial undertaking, KOPEC was awarded the primeengineering responsibility for all of the 500 MW class thermal plant projects including Poryong Units 5 and 6, Taean units 1, 2, 3 & 4, Hadong Units 1 & 2, Dangjin Units 1 & 2, and Samchonpo Units 3, 4, 5 & 6. KOPEC is also the largest and most experienced engineering firm in Korea at designing other types of fossil power plants such as combined cycle, cogeneration, LNG, and diesel power plants. Korea Power Plant Service Co., Ltd. (KPS) - A leader in power plant design KPS is in charge of the maintenance service of power plants owned by KEPCO, in order to elevate service life and capacity factors and eventually contribute to better supply and demand balance of electric power. In 1974, the Hana Industrial Management Co., Ltd. was founded and was later renamed the Korea Electric Maintenance and Repair Co., Ltd. in 1977. Then, in 1981, it merged with Korea Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Ltd. In April 1984, KEPCO invested in the sector that had orginally been independent of the Korea Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Ltd. As a result, that sector was reestablished as today's Korea Power Plant Service Co., Ltd. KPS's paid-in capital is about 6 billion won, and total assets amount to approximately 130 billion won. The firm is organized into three divisions; Planning & Administration, Business, and Technology Development. There are also 12 departments, 37 service offices, 1 training center and 1 nuclear power training center. Approximately 4,300 specialists in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, nuclear power, metallography, electronics, and chemical engineering, were employed at the end of 1994. Skilled personnel provide nation-wide KEPCO-owned hydro, thermal, and nuclearpower plants with routine and specialized services. These services, such as corrective and preventive maintenance and rehabilitation, contribute to the maximization of efficiency and plant cycles. In addition, KPS provides various maintenance of industrial customer's electric facilities including auto-generation facilities. KPS is striving hard to become a world leader in the field of maintenance andrepair of power generation facilities through 'A Partnership to National Welfare and Industrial Development'. To achieve this goal, it seeks a balance among manpower, technology, and system, and has set the managerial goals of 'Lively Job Site', 'Reliable ServiceQuality', and 'Enhancement of Technology'. Korea Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. (KNFC) - Supplies nuclear fuel to all plants in Korea In 1982, Korea Nuclear Fuel Company Ltd. was established to carry out design and fabrication of pressurized water reactor fuel. It was also given the responsibility of developing fuel cycle technology. As of the end of 1994, KNFC's capital amounted to 41.8 billion won, 95 percent invested by KEPCO, with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute holding the remainder. KNFC is organized into 3 divisions, 8 departments, 7 offices, and employs 468 workforce. In January 1989, it began to produce 200 tons of PWR fuel assemblies annually. Since its establishment, KNFC has been supplying domestically producedPWR fuel assemblies to all the nuclear power plants under operation in Korea. KNFC is exerting much effort in research and development activities and established a R&D center in 1992 in order to achieve self-reliance in fuel design technology, process automation, and development of new materials and better nuclear fuels. By establishing a long-term technology development plan for producing advanced and recycling fuel, KNFC is keeping pace with current international trends in nuclear fuel cycle technology. In addition, it is planning to expand its fabrication plant as electricity demand increases according to the long-term power development plan approved by the Government. [TT]The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute -Successful at developing new design technologies Thanks to KAERI's extensive efforts in the applications of nuclear energy in the industrial field, substantial progress in a wide spectrum of areas is being made. The development of technologies for radio-sterilization of medical products, for extending the shelf life of foods, and for preventing food decay has already been established and transferred to domestic industries for their commercialization. In addition, the development of technology for the application of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine and life science related industries is actively conducted. Remarkable progress is being made in producing radioisotopes, especially RI-labelled compounds, for industrial and medical use by the use of research reactors. KAERI has been making increasing efforts towards the establishment of the independent design capability of the Nuclear Steam Supply Systems (NSSS), the key technology for the nuclear power generation systems. KAERI now is capable of carrying out the NSSS design for nuclear power plants currently under construction in Korea. For pressurized water reactors, KAERI is taking full responsibility for carrying out the NSSS design of Ulchin Units 3 & 4, the first of a series of the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) based on experience and expertise from the NSSS design of Younggwang Units 3 & 4 through joint work with foreign counterparts. For pressurized heavy water reactors, KAERI is concentrating great efforts onacquiring capability to independently develop technology by taking a leading role in implementing the NSSS design of Wolsung Units 2, 3 & 4. KAERI plans to continue to make ongoing efforts to share accumulated technologies with other countries embarking on nuclear power programs. Not only to take part in key nuclear projects jointly with nuclear advanced countries but also to strengthen the cooperation, KAERI has established overseasbranch offices in Windsor and Toronto in Canada. KAERI will be expanding its overseas branch offices in order to bring about more concrete and practical cooperation in nuclear areas. KAERI successfully developed the design and manufacture technology for PHWR fuel in 1984. Encouraged by this accomplishment, KAERI developed the design technology for PWR fuel in 1989. As a result, all nuclear power plants in Korea are being operated with domestically designed and manufactured fuels. Special emphasis is given to the development of advanced fuels with improved safety and efficiency features compared with existing fuels.