오피니언 Editorial

Czech court halts nuclear deal with South Korea on eve of signing

입력 2025.05.08 17:36

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Former presidential Yoon Suk-yeol smiles during his visit to the Czech Republic in September last year at a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the Korea-Czech economic innovation partnership program in Prague, Czech Republic. Yonhap News

The Czech Republic's Dukovany nuclear power plant project has been put on hold again one day before scheduled contract signing. On May 6, the Brno District Court accepted a legal challenge filed by French energy firm EDF, which had lost in the competitive bidding process. The court issued a provisional injunction, halting the final contract between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Czech utility ČEZ until a formal ruling is made.

The government, which dispatched a large delegation to attend the contract ceremony, was embarrassed to hear the news on its way to the Czech Republic. It is a national disgrace that took place after focusing only on promoting achievements without knowing the progress ahead of it. Did you learn nothing from the recent failure to secure the 2030 Busan World Expo bid?

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Deok-geun dismissed accusations of negligence, saying the government had not been complacent. Then, on what grounds did he say he was 100 percent optimistic about the EDF's request for provisional injunction? When then-President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the Czech Republic in September last year and released economic cooperation gifts, the government boasted of signing the deal. Minister Ahn said, "There will be no big problem with the final contract," but added, "We cannot predict when that will be." Without a specific basis for judgment, this is not the time to be optimistic about winning the Czech nuclear power plant.

Orders for the Czech nuclear power plant have been noisy since KHNP was selected as the preferred bidder in July last year. The original plan to complete the final contract by March this year had been delayed due to the intellectual property dispute with Westinghouse in the U.S. The issue was only resolved in January this year, but it has not been disclosed how much we conceded in the process. The promise of a 60 percent localization rate guaranteeing 60 percent participation rate to local Czech companies is also serving as a profitability variable.

The Korean nuclear industry is giving significant meaning to the Czech nuclear power plant order in that it is Korea's first step in the European market, where it first built a commercial nuclear power plant. The government also viewed it as a "jackpot" that will bring about a great impact on the Korean economy. Yet suspicions of "dumping orders" and a lack of transparency in negotiations as shown in the "halting a day before the contract" remain unresolved. With the final signing now postponed again, concerns are growing that Czech domestic politics such as the Czech general election in October may further influence the outcome. It should not be forgotten that the government's nuclear power plant project is based on business feasibility and transparency, which are directly related to national interests.