Abstract
Background: This study examines South Korea’s administrative agencies regulating radiation risks, focusing on organizational structures, legal frameworks, and delegated regulatory powers. It highlights challenges from fragmented statutes, inconsistent standards, and scientific uncertainties, emphasizing the need for coherent and effective regulatory governance to protect public safety.Materials and Methods: This qualitative study identified domestic administrative agencies and relevant legislation regulating radiation risks through expert consultations, analysis of prior studies, and systematic searches of the National Law Information Center.Results and Discussion: In South Korea, the regulation of radiation risks is fragmented across 12 administrative agencies, including the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Intelligence Service, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. A total of 32 laws under these agencies govern radiation risk regulation. Each administrative agency is involved in the oversight of high-level and low-level radiation, radiological emergencies, remediation, and compensation measures. While these agencies oversee high- and low-level radiation, radiological emergencies, and remediation or compensation measures, no single body exercises comprehensive regulatory authority. This dispersed framework results in inconsistencies in dose limits, measurement protocols, and definitional standards, compounded by variations in subordinate regulations and administrative notifications. The structural and legal fragmentation highlights the imperative for enhanced inter-agency coordination or institutional consolidation to ensure coherent and effective governance of radiation risks.Conclusion: South Korea’s radiation risk regulation requires a unified legal framework to integrate multiple administrative agencies. A foundational statute, such as the Nuclear Safety Act, is crucial for standardizing risk evaluation and measurement methodologies across ministries.