The government selected a consortium led by Hankook Research to conduct a survey to collect public opinion on whether the construction of two nuclear power reactors in South Korea should continue or be scrapped.

The consortium, which also includes World Research and the Korea Center for Social Conflict Resolution, will conduct a series of surveys to help a state commission come up with a recommendation on whether the construction of the Shingori-5 and Shingori-6 reactors in the southeastern city of Ulsan should continue or end.

The commission plans to sign a contract with the consortium later Thursday.

On Friday, the consortium will launch an 18-day survey on about 20,000 people so as to select 500 of the respondents as a jury that will be provided with more information on the issue and participate in debates and hearings.

The jury will also spend three days together in a camp for final debates from Oct. 13-15. Two surveys will be conducted on the jury, with the second one on Oct. 15. Based on the surveys, the commission will unveil its recommendation on Oct. 20.

The government of President Moon Jae-in proposed scrapping the reactor construction project in an effort to reduce South Korea's dependence on nuclear energy. The government established the independent ad-hoc commission to gauge public opinion on the proposal.

The proposal to scrap the reactors' construction sparked heated debates in a country that relies on nuclear reactors for about a third of its electricity. Proponents say the country should phase out nuclear power for safety and environmental reasons, but opponents say it will lead to a shortage in the power supply and a spike in electricity bills. (Yonhap)