[Reporter’s Notebook] The Government Cuts Budget but Claims to Support Nuclear Power Plant Exports

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The ‘Nuclear Power Export Advisory Committee,’ launched the day before by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, attracted attention. It announced plans to strengthen the support system for nuclear power exports through public-private cooperation and to focus on supporting the export of equipment and parts from small and medium-sized nuclear power companies, presenting a direction completely different from the nuclear phase-out policy. With the completion of the UAE Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, the first nuclear export unit this year, it stated that this year would be very meaningful in the history of nuclear power exports and that it would make every effort to secure new nuclear power projects in countries such as the Czech Republic and Poland.

However, looking at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s budget proposal, there is doubt about whether there is genuine will for overseas exports. The ministry allocated 3 billion KRW for building the export foundation of the nuclear power industry this year. Compared to last year (3.1 billion KRW), it is at the same level. The intention is to support exports for companies and personnel whose workload has decreased to prevent the collapse of the nuclear power industry ecosystem due to the nuclear phase-out, but the actual support fund was reduced by 2.6%. The budget for core nuclear technology development (R&D) was also cut by 13.4%, from 64.9 billion KRW last year to 56.2 billion KRW this year.

On the other hand, the budget for supporting overseas expansion of renewable energy is 7 billion KRW, twice that of the nuclear power export budget. The support scale was also expanded by 73.4% compared to the previous year. This budget allocation perfectly fits the ‘energy transition’ policy the ministry talks about, in other words, the ‘nuclear phase-out’ policy.

The government has repeatedly expressed its intention to expand nuclear power exports, but domestically, the ‘nuclear phase-out’ policy continues without pause. The sudden policy shift due to regime change has left companies and local communities to bear the brunt. It is unlikely that the nuclear power industry, which is neglected even domestically, will succeed overseas.

What is even more bitter when looking at the ministry’s nuclear export budget is that, as the main department responsible for energy policy, it shows no minimum sincerity. The government aims to find a breakthrough through exports to restore the rapidly collapsing nuclear power ecosystem caused by government policy, but the related budget was cut. This is why the ministry’s statements feel like empty words.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.