[Collapsed Nuclear Ecosystem③] K-Nuclear Technology Ignored Overseas

Zero Overseas Orders After Nuclear Phase-Out... Abnormal Signs in UK, UAE, and Others
Nuclear Industry Export Performance Also Plummets... K-Taxonomy Exclusion of Nuclear Power Adds Risk

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] In December 2009, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) consortium won the $18.6 billion (approximately 21 trillion KRW) Barakah Nuclear Power Plant construction project commissioned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At that time, Korea secured its first overseas nuclear power project, surpassing nuclear power powerhouses such as Japan and France. However, since the UAE nuclear power export, there have been zero overseas nuclear power orders during the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration starting in 2017.

Experts evaluate that the Moon administration's nuclear phase-out declaration played a significant role in K-Nuclear Power, which possesses world-class technology, being shunned overseas. Domestically, the policy of implementing nuclear phase-out due to safety concerns while simultaneously pursuing overseas exports was criticized as a contradictory policy.

In fact, after the Moon administration's nuclear phase-out declaration, K-Nuclear Power suffered continuous defeats in overseas orders. In 2018, the year following the phase-out declaration, KEPCO was abruptly removed from the status of preferred negotiator for the sale of NewGen, the company managing the Moorside nuclear power project in the UK. Toshiba, the Japanese company owning the project company, suddenly notified the termination and offered the sale opportunity to Canadian and Chinese nuclear companies. At that time, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained that "the suspension of acquisition negotiations is unrelated to the nuclear phase-out policy," but the nuclear industry regarded the termination of preferred negotiator status within less than a year as extremely unusual.

In the same year, abnormal signs continued even in the UAE, where the first order was secured. Starting with transferring the long-term service contract to ?lectricit? de France (EDF), in 2019, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's sole long-term maintenance contract for the nuclear power plant was suddenly changed to a joint contract with American and British companies. The contract amount also shrank from about 3 trillion KRW to several hundred billion KRW. An industry insider analyzed, "At that time, the UAE's decision to share the maintenance contract of the nuclear power plant, which Korea had secured alone, with other countries was a long-term decision considering the weakening of the future K-Nuclear Power ecosystem." This is also interpreted as the phase-out policy hampering overseas business.

Korea's first exported nuclear power plant, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

K-Nuclear Power, which was shunned overseas, led to a sharp decline in exports. According to the nuclear power industry, overseas nuclear power export performance, including design and components, plummeted from 440 billion KRW in 2018 to 20 billion KRW in 2019. In fact, during the Moon administration, KHNP's orders were limited to small-scale contracts such as supplying a 'vibration monitoring system for turbines' worth about $3 million (approximately 3.6 billion KRW) for the Turkish Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and a 'magnetic foreign material removal facility' contract worth 700,000 euros (approximately 937 million KRW) for Slovenia's Kr?ko Nuclear Power Plant with cooperating small and medium enterprises. This is why concerns are emerging that the technological competitiveness of a country possessing world-class nuclear power technology is weakening.

The outlook for major global nuclear power export projects is also not promising. KHNP is currently in practical negotiations with Russian companies aiming to sign a contract for the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in April. In the Egyptian El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant project, which involves investing $30 billion (approximately 35 trillion KRW) to build four 1200 MW-class nuclear reactors, KHNP has been selected as the sole negotiator for participation in secondary system projects such as turbine buildings and is about to sign a contract. However, the main contractor that won the El Dabaa project as a turnkey contract is Russia's JSC ASE, and the Ukraine invasion situation is acting as a variable.

Recently, although the European Union (EU) included nuclear power in its draft green taxonomy, revitalizing nuclear power construction, the government’s confirmation of the 'Korean Green Taxonomy (K-Taxonomy)' excluding nuclear power is also emerging as a risk factor.

Professor Seunghoon Yoo of the Department of Energy Policy at Seoul National University of Science and Technology said, "Although the next government has stated it will revitalize nuclear power, immediate investment resumption is difficult," adding, "It will take more than a year to actually invest because legal procedures such as revising the basic electricity supply plan and conducting environmental impact assessments must be followed."

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