Korea to deploy nuclear sales attaches to embassies

Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kang Kyung-sung, left, speaks during a meeting with commercial attaches at Best Western Plus Hotel Sejong in Sejong City, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Commercial attaches to undergo mandatory nuclear tech business sales workshop

By Lee Kyung-min

The government will require commercial attaches to attend a workshop to deepen their understanding of nuclear energy, related global trade conditions and overseas case studies of large, government-backed nuclear reactor construction deals won by Korean firms, the trade ministry said Monday.

The move is part of efforts to fortify the capabilities of local high-ranking civil servants in bolstering their salesmanship with foreign policymakers and business leaders, in line with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's initiative to strengthen exports of the country's nuclear reactors as well as related products and services.

The role of the commercial officers will be greatly expanded to help the government drive whereby Korea seeks to export 10 nuclear reactors by 2030 and generate 5 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in exports of related equipment and service industries by 2027.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said 11 commercial attaches to be dispatched from this month through September and onwards will have to attend eight sessions before they depart.

The topics they will learn include the past and future of nuclear power, current status and prospects of the global nuclear power market, small modular reactors, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates, nuclear power industry structure and equipment export, nonproliferation agreements and nuclear export control.

The 11 attaches will be dispatched to the U.S., Egypt, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar, Mexico and Myanmar among others.

The ministry said more government officials will be dispatched to the Czech Republic, Poland, Netherlands, South Africa, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, India and Uzbekistan.

Monday's announcement follows a 250 billion won deal inked between Korea and Romania to build a nuclear waste treatment facility in the Eastern European country.

The country's state-run energy firms Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Korea Electric Power Corp. Engineering & Construction (KEPCO E&C) and their private peers Hyundai E&C and Samsung C&T Korea inked a deal with SN Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), a partially state-owned Romanian nuclear energy company.

They signed a contract to build a tritium removal facility (TRF) in Cernavoda at the country's only nuclear power plant.