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| Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Il-jun speaks during a meeting attended by members of Team Korea, a task force established to facilitate the export of the country's nuclear reactors, at InterContinental Seoul COEX, southern Seoul, Friday. Yonhap |
By Lee Kyung-min
State-run energy companies and private firms in the nuclear energy industry will join hands to advance exports of the stable and affordable power generation systems, the energy ministry said following a meeting attended by officials from the sector, Friday.
The Korea-developed APR1400, a nuclear reactor with a capacity of 1,400 megawatts, is increasingly recognized by its industry peers for its cost, quality and technological advantages.
Communication channels will be strengthened with the Czech Republic, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, to win orders to build nuclear reactors there. Also fortified will be government assistance to foster industries related to nuclear power generation equipment manufacturing, as well as facility safety and maintenance.
Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Il-jun presided over the meeting attended by members of Team Korea, a task force established to facilitate the export of the country's nuclear reactors, at InterContinental Seoul COEX, southern Seoul.
In attendance were Korea Power Corp. (KEPCO) and its power subsidiary Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as well as KEPCO affiliates.
Private firms included energy and construction affiliates of Doosan, Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, GS, Hanwha, POSCO and Kumho.
They reiterated the need to fine-tune strategies to generate continued overseas construction orders from Korea's peers in need of power plants that can effectively and efficiently meet their energy demands. Included are Egypt, with which Korea inked a 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) deal in 2022, and the United Arab Emirates where Korea built four reactors. Discussions are ongoing with Poland for Korea to build reactors there, as outlined by a letter of intent (LOI) signed between private energy in the East European country and Korea.
"Korea is increasingly emerging as a nuclear energy powerhouse," Park said.
The ongoing talks with a number of countries will bear fruit in the years to come, thereby restoring the competitive edge of Korea where strong local market players will find a breakthrough from years of slowdown in the industrial ecosystem, he added.
Korea's strong capabilities in nuclear power generation will continually be upgraded, in his view, buttressing the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's initiative to export 10 nuclear reactors by 2030.
