The primary mission of AEC is to protect the public health and safety, and the environment from the effects of radiation from nuclear materials and facilities. To carry out its mission, AEC sets strategies and formulate policies as directed by the Minister, develop regulations and guidance documents related to atomic energy, and conducts licensing and enforcement for reactor safety of nuclear power plants as well as for protection against ionizing radiation. International cooperation also plays an important role in this and other regulatory activities.

In addition, AEC takes charge of nation-wide environmental monitoring on ionizing radiation through its affiliated Radiation Monitoring Center (RMC). For radioactive waste, AEC, together with its affiliated Fuel Cycle and Materials Administration (FCMA), is responsible for all licensing and enforcement activities from cradle to grave.

An emergency response system is the last line of defense for nuclear safety. The National Nuclear Emergency Response Center, led by AEC Minister, oversees off-site nuclear emergency preparedness and management, while the facility operator takes charge of the on-site mission.

While AEC devotes the above efforts to ensuring nuclear safety and radiation protection, it is critically important that the regulatory practices are of sound scientific and technical basis. Confirmatory R&D is, therefore, one area of strong emphasis assigned by the Council to its affiliated research arm, the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER). Other focuses of INER's current research efforts include plasma application, waste treatment, nuclear medicine, and fuel cell technology.