{"id":2199707,"date":"2022-12-13T07:11:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T07:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199707"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:48","slug":"why-south-korea-has-a-bright-future-in-polands-nuclear-energy-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/12\/why-south-korea-has-a-bright-future-in-polands-nuclear-energy-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Why South Korea has a bright future in Poland\u2019s nuclear energy industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea\u2019s <\/span>investment<\/span><\/a> in Poland has increased significantly in recent years. <\/span>Data<\/span><\/a> from the Polish National Bank states that the ROK became Poland’s largest non-European foreign investor in 2021 \u2014 the most notable development being Seoul\u2019s <\/span>intention to participate<\/span><\/a> in developing the Polish nuclear energy program.<\/span><\/p>\n Although Warsaw awarded the contract to build its first nuclear power plant to <\/span>Westinghouse<\/span><\/a> in October this year, it <\/span>signed<\/span><\/a> a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Seoul just days later to assess the feasibility of building four reactors with South Korean technology.<\/span><\/p>\n As Warsaw <\/span>plans<\/span><\/a> to construct three nuclear power plants by 2043, Poland\u2019s partnership with the ROK could not have come at a better time, as its nuclear energy goals align with President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s <\/span>pledge<\/span><\/a> to export South Korean nuclear power plants.<\/span><\/p>\n A Westinghouse lawsuit against South Korea\u2019s nuclear power authority threatens to derail or at least delay the realization of Seoul\u2019s ambitions, but such litigation cannot forestall all cooperation between the two nations keen to work together on nuclear power.<\/span><\/p>\n POLAND\u2019S NUCLEAR ENERGY AMBITIONS<\/b><\/p>\n Poland is the eighth most populous European nation and one of the <\/span>fastest-growing<\/span><\/a> economies on the continent, a fact that explains its accelerating demand for energy. However, Poland still does not have an indigenous nuclear power sector. An effort to build a power plant in the 1980s was <\/span>thwarted<\/span><\/a> by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and Poland’s financial woes.<\/span><\/p>\n Polish authorities, therefore, <\/span>released<\/span><\/a> a Polish Nuclear Power Program strategic planning document in 2014 and renewed it in 2020. This project’s primary aim is to construct and commission nuclear power plants by 2033. And in 2022, the Polish Council of Ministers adopted a resolution <\/span>emphasizing<\/span><\/a> that nuclear power plants are vital to Poland\u2019s state security.<\/span><\/p>\n It thus came as little surprise when Seoul expressed interest in helping Poland develop its nuclear energy industry.<\/span><\/p>\n The ROK government <\/span>signed<\/span><\/a> a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Poland to actively participate in developing Poland\u2019s nuclear energy program on June 30, 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the end of October, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), a subsidiary of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), <\/span>signed<\/span><\/a> a letter of intent with two Polish companies to build a nuclear power plant in Patnow based on KHNP\u2019s APR1400 reactor technology.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the MOUs and letters of intent, the bid to construct Poland\u2019s first nuclear power plant went to Westinghouse, a U.S. company. This was likely a political decision that reflected the <\/span>close military cooperation<\/span><\/a> between Poland and the U.S. But while Washington is a necessary political ally, Seoul remains an attractive business partner for Poland.<\/span><\/p>\n Economic cooperation between South Korea and Poland has been on an <\/span>upward trajectory<\/span><\/a> for many years. The most attention-grabbing deal between the two countries is the $15 billion weapons deal that Warsaw <\/span>approved<\/span><\/a> this past summer.<\/span><\/p>\n Poland just accepted the <\/span>first delivery<\/span><\/a> of tanks and howitzers as part of that deal last Tuesday, and the arrival of these weapons will likely strengthen Seoul\u2019s position with respect to future nuclear bids in Poland.<\/span><\/p>\n