No students applied to major in nuclear engineering at KAIST for the fall semester this year, marking the first time in four years the program received zero applicants. The drop reflects growing uncertainty in the nuclear power industry, raising concerns that policy confusion is weakening the talent pool for a key energy source needed to meet rising electricity demand in the AI era.

According to KAIST, among students entering their second year this year, no one applied to the nuclear and quantum engineering program for the fall semester, the first time since 2021, when the government's anti-nuclear policy was in full effect. Last fall, four students applied, leaving this year's total nuclear engineering enrollment at just four, all from spring semester applicants. KAIST freshmen enter under a "undeclared" track and choose their majors in the second year. In 2016, 22 students enrolled in the nuclear program annually, but the number fell to single digits after the government adopted an anti-nuclear policy in 2017.

Experts warn that as nuclear power becomes increasingly tied to political debates, the talent pool for the industry is weakening. Recently, Kim Sung-hwan, minister of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, indicated plans to review the previous government's new nuclear plant construction plans.

"Energy policies change completely with each administration, creating extreme uncertainty in the nuclear industry," said Yoon Jong-il, a KAIST professor of nuclear and quantum engineering. "At this rate, qualified nuclear engineers could disappear within 20 years."

세종=정순구기자 [email protected]