Korea-Singapore FTA Upgraded After 20 Years... Expanding to SMR Cooperation for a Future Trade and Energy Alliance

Agreement Reached to Launch Improvement Negotiations Focusing on Supply Chains and the Green Economy

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Singapore EMA Sign SMR Cooperation MOU

Establishing a Foothold in the ASEAN Nuclear Power Market

Yonhap News Agency

On the occasion of President Lee Jaemyung's state visit to Singapore, Korea and Singapore will further expand cooperation in trade and energy.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 2, 2026, that Korea and Singapore, a global hub for technology, energy, and logistics, have agreed to upgrade their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and strengthen cooperation in the field of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The FTA with Singapore, Korea's first FTA partner among ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, came into effect on March 2, 2006, marking its 20th anniversary this year.

On this day, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeonggwan exchanged a Joint Declaration of Agreement to commence negotiations to improve the Korea-Singapore FTA with Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry, coinciding with the Korea-Singapore summit. The government plans to modernize regulations, focusing on new trade areas such as supply chains and the green economy, through these improvement negotiations. A "modular trade agreement" approach will be adopted, whereby standard clauses are prepared for each sector, and the areas of application and detailed provisions are selected and combined according to the characteristics and demands of the partner country.

In the supply chain sector, cooperation plans will be specified mainly around bio and pharmaceutical areas to establish a supply chain cooperation model between the two countries. In the green economy sector, the plan is to advance decarbonization cooperation and strengthen the foundation for Korean companies to enter the ASEAN market. In the area of trade facilitation, trade costs will be reduced by improving customs clearance procedures, and cooperation in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) will be expanded to enhance the competitiveness of Korea's aviation maintenance industry.

Cooperation in the nuclear power sector will also begin in earnest. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA) signed a "Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on SMR Cooperation" in the presence of the leaders. This is the first MOU on nuclear power cooperation between a Korean nuclear company and a Singaporean government agency.

The Singaporean government has previously allocated a budget of approximately 5 trillion won from its future energy policy fund for SMR-related projects in response to increased electricity demand due to the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the implementation of carbon neutrality. Given Singapore's limited land area and high population density, small modular reactors, which are less constrained by site limitations, are considered a practical alternative.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is developing the Korean innovative small modular reactor (i-SMR), aiming for commercialization in the mid-2030s. Based on this MOU, plans are underway to collaborate with Singapore's EMA on feasibility studies for SMR adoption, workforce training, sharing of technical information, and best practices in nuclear energy. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power also plans to actively participate in EMA's ongoing SMR design study, promote Korea's next-generation nuclear power technology, and seek opportunities for future business participation.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated that it would support follow-up consultations to ensure that the results of this MOU lead to actual projects and would strategically manage overall trade and energy cooperation.

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