The global energy demand is expected to rise sharply in the near future, positioning Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a prominent solution to address this growing need. SMRs currently under development exhibit unique characteristics compared to conventional Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), such as differences in fuel form, composition, and refueling cycles, which may introduce novel challenges from a nuclear proliferation perspective. Thus, it is imperative to enhance safeguardability through appropriate facility design and the implementation of safeguards, with Safeguards by Design (SBD) being a necessary approach to achieve this in an efficient and effective manner. Among the methodologies for evaluating safeguardability is the Safeguardability Evaluation Tool (SET), developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). SET is a program specifically designed to support SBD. It allows users to input information about facility processes and nuclear materials, automatically generating diversion pathways. By implementing safeguard systems for each process, the tool outputs quantitative evaluation results for individual pathways and provides a qualitative evaluation checklist for the entire facility to comprehensively assess safeguardability This study involves the design of a simulated facility based on the innovative SMR (i-SMR), an integral PWR-type SMR currently under development in South Korea, and the subsequent safeguardability analysis using SET. Based on the evaluation results, vulnerable processes within the facility were identified, and the impacts of design modifications and strengthened safeguards on detection probabilities for these processes were analyzed. Design strategies to improve proliferation resistance were also proposed. This study confirms that SBD can effectively and efficiently increase safeguardability by preventing retrofits s or redesigns during or after construction. This finding can serve as a basis for promoting the widespread adoption of SBD, which, if widely implemented, would make a significant contribution to nuclear nonproliferation
