{"id":2197013,"date":"2022-06-21T19:29:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T10:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2197013"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:15","slug":"abandoning-phaseout-south-korea-moves-to-get-nuclear-exports-back-on-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/06\/abandoning-phaseout-south-korea-moves-to-get-nuclear-exports-back-on-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoning phaseout, South Korea moves to get nuclear exports back on track"},"content":{"rendered":"
Entering office, one of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s most ambitious goals was to restore the country\u2019s nuclear industry to its past glory. Not only did he promise to end his predecessor\u2019s nuclear phaseout and <\/span>restart<\/span><\/a> the canceled construction of two new reactors in South Korea, he also <\/span>pledged<\/span><\/a> to export 10 nuclear power plants by 2030.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But South Korea\u2019s nuclear future will not solely be about competing for multi-billion-dollar commercial nuclear power plants abroad. A host of South Korean companies are getting involved at the other end of the scale, signing partnerships in multiple countries aimed at solidifying their position in the burgeoning market of small modular reactors (SMRs). If that technology proves successful, Korean companies will be in line for a significant slice of a market that could reach hundreds of billions of dollars every year.<\/span><\/p>\n The upshot of SMR technology also goes beyond the potential financial windfall. While not yet an explicit goal, South Korea is also acquiring the technology and know-how to join the ranks of countries fielding ships with nuclear propulsion.<\/span><\/p>\n REACTORS ABROAD<\/b><\/p>\n Yoon\u2019s promise to export 10 nuclear power plants by 2030 faces an uphill battle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The simple logistics of the task are daunting. Reaching that goal would mean bidding, negotiating and winning 10 contracts in just eight years, though Yoon\u2019s term is itself only five years.. Even softening that goal to mean signing contracts that include 10 nuclear reactors<\/span> \u2014 most nuclear power plants contain multiple reactors \u2014 seems overly ambitious considering South Korea has only won one contract to date.<\/span><\/p>\n More importantly, Yoon will have to take steps to burnish South Korea\u2019s credibility after major scandals embroiled the domestic nuclear industry in the early 2010s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was under former President Lee Myung-bak that South Korea arrived as a potential major player in the export of nuclear power plant technology. <\/span>In 2009<\/span><\/a>, South Korea\u2019s KEPCO was selected over a French company for a $20 billion deal to build four reactors in the United Arab Emirates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But then in 2013, South Korea charged <\/span>more than 100 people<\/span><\/a> in connection with a series of <\/span>scandals<\/span><\/a> dating back <\/span>more than a decade<\/span><\/a>, ranging from <\/span>collusion in the bidding process to forged safety certificates<\/span><\/a> for parts used in nuclear reactors. In the end, <\/span>68 were sentenced<\/span><\/a> to more than 250 years of combined jail time.<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, the reactors in the UAE faced significant delays. The first reactor was slated to come online in 2017 but did not start operation until 2019. There are now <\/span>two reactors<\/span><\/a> in operation with all four scheduled to be online in the near future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n