Reason for Czech Nuclear Plant Contract Success... Presidential Office: "Trust in Meeting Construction Deadlines is Key"

Sung Tae-yoon, Director of Policy Office, Announces Results of Visit to Czech Republic
Trust in Construction Period Key to Winning Contracts
Industry Ministries of Both Countries Establish 'Hotline' for Ongoing Consultations

Sung Tae-yoon, Chief of Policy Office at the Presidential Office, who visited as a special envoy for the Czech nuclear power plant, is explaining the results of the visit to the Czech Republic at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 25th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office stated that the Czech government selected Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as the preferred negotiator for the new nuclear power plant construction project due to "trust in adherence to the construction schedule" and a "solid industrial base." It explained that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was not chosen simply because of a low bid price.

On the 25th, Sung Tae-yoon, the Policy Chief of the Presidential Office, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office to announce the results of the presidential special envoy delegation's visit to the Czech Republic. Sung was dispatched as a special envoy along with Minister An Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on the 24th (local time).

Sung said, "Prime Minister Fiala unusually paused the cabinet meeting briefly to welcome the special envoy delegation," adding, "Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef S?kela and security advisor Pojar were also present during the meeting."

Sung presented two reasons why the Czech side selected Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, explaining, "First, the two countries share universal values such as democracy and human rights, and second, Korea's excellent bid and solid industrial base were important considerations."

Previously, there was some controversy over "dumping orders" as Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's construction cost was reported to be much lower than that of its competitor, France. However, the Presidential Office clarified that the success in winning the bid was not simply due to the low price.

Sung added, "The Czech side emphasized that the bidding process was transparent and fair, and that trust in Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's adherence to the construction schedule played the most important role."

The Czech side reportedly told the special envoy delegation, "The construction of the new nuclear power plant holds very significant meaning for the future of the Czech Republic," and expressed hopes that "cooperation will be strengthened for the successful progress of the project, and that nuclear cooperation will act as a catalyst to greatly expand bilateral cooperation in research and development (R&D) and educational innovation."

To promote the successful nuclear power project, Korea and the Czech Republic agreed to establish a "hotline" between their respective ministers of trade and industry and to regularly operate a working-level consultative body at the director-general level to support this.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to visit the Czech Republic in September to continue discussions. Sung emphasized, "The two countries agreed to make thorough preparations so that President Yoon's visit to the Czech Republic can become a historic turning point in the development of Korea-Czech relations."

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