Due to an agreement reached between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the American nuclear corporation Westinghouse during the Czech nuclear power plant bidding process, KHNP and KEPCO are reported to be unable to enter the North American, European, Japanese, British, and Ukrainian markets.
According to the nuclear power industry on the 19th, the 'global agreement' signed between KHNP, KEPCO, and Westinghouse in January specifically names the countries where KHNP and KEPCO can engage in nuclear power bidding activities.
It is reported that KHNP and KEPCO can engage in new nuclear power bidding activities in Southeast Asia (the Philippines, Vietnam), Central Asia (Kazakhstan), South Africa, North Africa (Morocco, Egypt), South America (Brazil, Argentina), Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia.
In contrast, it is reported that only Westinghouse can enter North America (the United States, Canada, Mexico) and European Union member states excluding the Czech Republic, Japan, and Ukraine. This means that KHNP cannot undertake new nuclear power bidding in these countries.
KHNP and KEPCO also decided to issue a guarantee letter of credit worth $400 million (approximately 560 billion won) for each nuclear power plant to Westinghouse. If the deadline specified in the contract is not met, Westinghouse will be able to immediately draw the required amount from this credit letter. Although KHNP has stated, 'We cannot confirm the facts,' in reality, KHNP and KEPCO are targeting emerging markets like the Middle East and Asia while reducing their activities in Europe since January of this year, when intellectual property rights issues were resolved.
In fact, KEPCO has recently been driving nuclear power exports, particularly focusing on Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, while KHNP is seeking new avenues to enter the market by highlighting next-generation nuclear power plants such as small modular reactors (SMRs) over traditional large nuclear power plants.
In this regard, Huang Joo-ho, President of KHNP, attended the National Assembly's Trade, Industry Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee and officially confirmed the withdrawal plan from the Polish nuclear power project in response to inquiries, stating, 'We are currently in a state of withdrawal.'
President Huang explained the background of the withdrawal, saying, 'The new Polish government came in, and there were existing government projects and state-owned enterprise projects that were being carried out in parallel, but we withdrew after deciding not to pursue the state-owned enterprise projects.'
The National Assembly is taking the current situation seriously. In particular, as it is known that the agreement will remain effective for 50 years, there are criticisms that we have lost both our nuclear export competitiveness and technological leadership, labeling it a 'humiliating agreement,' which is likely to escalate the controversy.