The government has selected two candidate sites for nuclear power plants ― Yeongdeok County of North Gyeongsang Province and Samcheok City of Gangwon Province. The two locations, both on the eastern coast, would be finalized by late next year, if they pass on-site inspections and environmental surveys.

The government said each site, if finalized, would have four APR1400 reactors, the latest 1.4 million kilowatt model Korea has exported to the United Arab Emirates. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. said it would take 12 years to build the reactors.

The announcement of the candidate sites signals the government has decided to speed up its nuclear power plant construction plan after a delay caused by the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The decision was prompted by the recent experience of blackouts.

Korea suffered devastating rolling blackouts in September as an unexpected spike in power consumption overshot the nation’s supply capacity. As the odds of such a disaster taking place in winter are greater than in summer, the government introduced on Dec. 5 a package of measures aimed at curbing power consumption.

But these measures have proved ineffective. They were bound to fail because the government lacked the administrative capacity to oversee their implementation. As a quick-fix solution, it raised electricity rates twice this year. But the rate hikes have not worked either.

According to the grid operator, the nation’s power reserve ratio hovers at around 5 percent these days, a level low enough to set off alarm bell.

For Korea, it is difficult to find an option that is better than nuclear plants. Yet the problem is that the public’s support for them has significantly weakened following the Fukushima debacle.

According to news reports, most residents in Yeongdeok are fortunately in support of hosting nuclear plants. The county’s council unanimously welcomed the site selection outcome, expressing its hope that plant construction would boost the local economy.

Yet in Samcheok, opposition to nuclear plants is strong. A civic group vowed to fight to nullify the selection of Samcheok as a candidate site. Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon added fuel by expressing his regret over the government’s renewed push for nuclear power generation.

The government needs to step up efforts to alleviate people’s concern about nuclear safety. It needs to strengthen safety measures at existing plants. When problems occur at these plants, details should be disclosed to the public. If it rushes headlong into plant construction without doing the homework, it could face a strong backlash.