Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is reported to be pursuing the establishment of a joint venture (JV) with Westinghouse in the United States. Attention is focused on whether the JV establishment and strategies for entering the U.S. market for Korea's nuclear power industry will be discussed at the Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for the 25th.
According to the political circles on the 20th, KHNP and Westinghouse are negotiating specific cooperation plans, including the establishment of the JV. This matter was discussed at a full meeting of the National Assembly's Committee on Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises held the previous day, where Kim Jeong-gwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties participated.
A member of the National Assembly's Committee on Industry noted, "KHNP and Westinghouse have been discussing a technology agreement for a long time," adding that "the JV establishment is a matter for discussion between the two corporations."
Earlier, there was controversy when the 'global agreement' signed by KHNP and KEPCO with Westinghouse in January was made public. It is reported that the agreement requires that when Korean corporations independently develop and export next-generation nuclear power plants, such as small modular reactors (SMRs), they must pass Westinghouse's technology independence verification and pay hundreds of billions of won in technology usage fees when exporting nuclear power plants. This led to criticism in the political arena that the agreement was unfair.
If KHNP and Westinghouse establish the JV, it will pave the way for KHNP to enter the U.S. nuclear power construction market. The Trump administration has previously announced a long-term plan to build 300 new nuclear power plants.
There is interest in whether the strategies for Korea's nuclear power industry to enter the U.S. market will be discussed at the Korea-U.S. summit on the 25th. However, KHNP stated in a position document, "Cooperation between the two companies is a matter to be agreed upon among corporations and is not included in the cooperation agenda between the two governments." A member of the National Assembly's Committee on Industry also remarked, "It seems inappropriate to elevate a corporate negotiation issue to the summit agenda."