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I read that South Korea built 10 reactors at a third the cost in the West. How did they do it?

https://d2umxnkyjne36n.cloudfront.net/documents/D7.3-ETI-Nuclear-Cost-Drivers-Summary-Report_April-20.pdf?mtime=20180426151016

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South Korea hasn't built any SMRs at all. South Korean designed the 'SMART' SMR but none built domestically ("this is not practical or economic" according to the World Nuclear Association ) or elsewhere. As for conventional large reactors, deep-seated corruption is part of the answer to your question, see https://wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/887/nuclear-monitor-887-17-june-2020 and https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/844/south-koreas-nuclear-mafia

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Corruption usually increases costs, not reduce them. So you are saying Korean plants are unsafe?

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Cost-cutting corruption has reduced costs and increased safety risks - read the links.

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