The Democratic Party of Korea, the ruling party, has demanded the resignation of those responsible and renegotiation over the controversy surrounding the unfair contract for the export of the Czech nuclear power plant.
Members of the Democratic Party belonging to the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee of the National Assembly held a press conference on the 19th and noted, "Ahead of the December 3rd insurrection last year, the Yoon Suk-yeol government, desperate to show promotional results, abandoned nuclear technology sovereignty and engaged in reckless acts of treason," and demanded accountability from Ahn Duk-geun, former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, while stating that Kim Dong-cheol, president of KEPCO, and Hwang Joo-ho, president of KHNP, should resign immediately.
On the same day, Han Jeong-ae, the chair of the Democratic Party's policy committee, also stated during a parliamentary meeting that the Yoon Suk-yeol government had confirmed the conclusion of an unequal contract with Westinghouse to secure the Czech nuclear power plant bid, which had been stalled due to issues raised by Westinghouse in the United States, and added, "If our corporations develop independent technology models like small modular reactors, we cannot export without effectively obtaining Westinghouse's approval, and with each nuclear power plant exported, over 1 trillion won in cash is sent to Westinghouse. This can be deemed an act of treason that effectively sold our technology sovereignty and nuclear sovereignty, draining national wealth."
The previous day's media reports revealed that KEPCO and KHNP had disclosed the terms of the agreement signed with Westinghouse in January during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration for securing two nuclear power plants in Dukovany, Czech Republic. The reports indicated that KEPCO and KHNP had accepted conditions regarding passing technical independence verification for future next-generation nuclear power plant exports. It was also reported that the agreement included clauses stating that KHNP and KEPCO would sign purchasing contracts worth $650 million (about 900 billion won) with Westinghouse for each unit exported and pay a technology usage fee of $175 million (about 240 billion won) per unit.
KEPCO, KHNP, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had previously refused to disclose specific contract terms with Westinghouse citing confidentiality agreements. However, as specific details became known through media reports, concerns were raised that the government might have entered into an unfair contract with Westinghouse for the export of the Czech nuclear power plant.
During the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee, lawmakers from both sides questioned the nature of the unfair contract. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Han-kyu criticized that if sufficient discussions were not held in the board meetings of KEPCO and KHNP regarding the agreement with Westinghouse, it could be considered "breach of trust."
Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Seo Wang-jin pointed out, "There are evaluations that a hastily and improperly negotiating an unfair agreement was made to quickly finalize the nuclear power plant contract with the Czech Republic," while People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-bae stated, "There are also claims that the public was misled with falsehoods."
Lawmakers from both parties demanded that the agreement disclosed to the media also be submitted to the National Assembly. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, KEPCO, and KHNP initially stated that it was difficult to disclose the agreement due to confidentiality contracts, but as demands from lawmakers continued, they changed their position, stating that they would disclose it in the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee after the Korea-U.S. summit.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan and Hwang Joo-ho, president of KHNP, stated that there were no major issues with the contract with Westinghouse. President Hwang Joo-ho mentioned regarding the contract with Westinghouse, "While we cannot think it's fair from the accepting side, we believe it is worth enduring and making profits at that level," and added, "We believe we should apologize for not properly obtaining a detailed understanding of technical independence and core technologies from the public."