KHNP's Comprehensive Nuclear Power Plant Maintenance Qualification System Recognized by South Korean Government

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced on August 7 that its "comprehensive nuclear power plant maintenance qualification system" has received government recognition from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, an affiliate of South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor. The system is primarily designed for nuclear power plant maintenance positions, aiming to enhance the professional knowledge and on-site technical capabilities of practitioners.

Government recognition refers to the formal confirmation by the government of a qualification certification system used within a company to improve employee skills. KHNP believes this signifies that the objectivity and credibility of its qualification assessments have been recognized at the national level, contributing to improved reliability of on-site equipment operation and maintenance at South Korean nuclear power plants.

This qualification system integrates the certification systems previously operated separately by various nuclear power plant maintenance partner companies into a unified framework. Over the past three years, KHNP has worked with the On-site Training Academy, which is responsible for field training, to advance qualification assessments based on on-site needs, including expanding infrastructure, revising standard operating procedures, developing assessment question banks, and building a computerized qualification management system.

The "First Written Examination for Nuclear Power Plant Maintenance Workers" held last month covered three major maintenance areas—mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation—with a total of 10 core subjects. Currently, 12 major partner companies, including Suseon ENS, Kumhwa PSC, and Doosan Enerbility, have joined this comprehensive qualification certification system.

The final pass rate for this assessment was 25%, lower than the approximately 75% pass rate of the previous qualification certification systems operated by individual partner companies. KHNP believes that the unified certification system will help further standardize the competency evaluation of nuclear power plant maintenance personnel.