The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) submitted a proposed 2027 budget of 303 billion Korean won, about $220.8 million, to the National Assembly, representing a 3.5% increase, or 10.4 billion won, from this year. The plan centers on building regulatory infrastructure for small modular reactor (SMR) commercialization and fully implementing continuous inspections of operating nuclear plants from January. It includes 8 billion won for safety regulatory research targeting early-2030s licensing of non-light-water SMRs, 2.7 billion won for design reviews of those reactor types, and 12.3 billion won for lifecycle safety verification of the government-developed innovative SMR (i-SMR). Total R&D funding will reach 70.5 billion won, including work on artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion, flexible reactor operation, decommissioning, and spent nuclear fuel storage and disposal. The proposal also expands funding for continued-operation reviews, the decommissioning of Wolsong Unit 1 and Kori Unit 1, dry-storage safety, nuclear safety information centers, and environmental radiation monitoring. The budget must still be reviewed and approved by the National Assembly.