[2025 Budget] Aiming to Expand 'Czech Nuclear Power Export Boom'... 100 Billion Won Nuclear Industry Growth Fund Established

Expansion of Nuclear Ecosystem Loans to 150 Billion Won
Expansion of Export Support Including Establishment of Nuclear, Defense, and Content Funds

The government has decided to establish a new 'Nuclear Industry Growth Fund' worth 100 billion KRW to spread the nuclear power export boom, taking advantage of the Czech nuclear power plant contract, which is the largest ever. The scale of the 'Nuclear Ecosystem Loan,' currently being promoted to restore the domestic nuclear power ecosystem, will also be expanded to 150 billion KRW.

According to the '2025 Budget Proposal' announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 27th, the government plans to create new funds for nuclear power, defense industry, and content, increasing the export support budget from 2.1 trillion KRW this year to 2.9 trillion KRW.

Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant in the Czech Republic. (File photo)

First, in the case of nuclear power, a new Nuclear Industry Growth Fund (100 billion KRW) will be established, and the Nuclear Ecosystem Loan, which is currently 100 billion KRW this year, will be expanded to 150 billion KRW. The government will invest 40 billion KRW of public funds in establishing the Nuclear Industry Growth Fund. A budget of 400 billion KRW has been allocated for nuclear research and development (R&D), focusing on the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), next-generation nuclear power plants, and ensuring safety. Additionally, 11.4 billion KRW has been allocated for promotion, networking, and capacity building for overseas expansion.

An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, "Regarding the expansion of export scale, nuclear power, defense industry, and content are becoming strategic export items. We aim to support smooth exports by expanding funds and loans and significantly increasing guarantees."

To support the growing export scale of the defense industry, a 'K-Defense Export Fund' worth 40 billion KRW and a new supply of defense export guarantees worth 1.2 trillion KRW will be launched. Furthermore, 7.7 billion KRW will be provided to support the commercialization of small and medium-sized enterprises' products for global defense company parts exports.

Alongside this, 8 billion KRW will be spent on large-scale Hallyu concerts to enable exports and Hallyu exports linked to K-content, and a Global League Fund (100 billion KRW) will be established to attract foreign capital into the domestic content industry.

To strengthen the export base, the 2025 budget proposal includes a 100 billion KRW investment by the Korea Export-Import Bank for large-scale overseas orders, a 30 billion KRW Global Plant, Construction, and Smart City (PIS) Fund, and a 200 billion KRW Shipbuilding Industry Advance Payment Guarantee (RG).

Regarding small and medium-sized enterprises, a new 'Jump-up Package' will be established to support stable growth in new business and new market entry to help them grow into mid-sized companies. Support will also be provided for the smartization of manufacturing companies and export vouchers for tech service companies (14 billion KRW). The Regional Innovation Venture Fund, which assists domestic startups' overseas expansion and overseas startups' settlement in Korea, will be expanded to 200 billion KRW to strengthen the startup base outside the metropolitan area.

The budget for green transition and trade barrier response, which is 1.1 trillion KRW this year, will increase to 1.2 trillion KRW next year. Specifically, green transition guarantees to promote the introduction of carbon reduction facilities will be expanded to 1.5 trillion KRW, and funds and loans will be increased to 7.4 trillion KRW. The number of small and medium-sized enterprises receiving consulting for preparation against the European Union (EU)'s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will increase from 110 to 185. Support will also be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises to respond to trade barriers by expanding carbon footprint measurement and database (DB) creation for key industries such as batteries and automobiles.

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