SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Seven out of 10 South Koreans voted in favor of using atomic power, a survey showed Wednesday, amid the Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear phase-out policy.

The survey was conducted on 1,000 people aged over 19 to study public opinion on the government’s nuclear policy, the Korea Nuclear Society (KNS) said.

The KNS said 35.5 percent of the respondents said there is a need to increase nuclear power output to meet the country’s electricity needs, followed by 31.1 percent who called for a decrease.

At present, South Korea operates 24 nuclear reactors, which generate about 30 percent of the country’s electricity.

However, the Moon government suspended the construction of the Shin Hanul 3 and 4 reactors in the southeastern part of the country in 2017 as part of efforts to turn South Korea into a nuclear energy-free country. The nation’s 10 oldest reactors will be retired by 2030 as their operational life cycles expire.

The survey then showed that 50.8 percent of the respondents said the government’s policy to reduce the number of nuclear power plants is not being carried out well.

(Yonhap)