The Czech Administrative Court's decision to issue a preliminary injunction against a contract has delayed the signing of a new nuclear power project contract between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Czech Energy Company (CEZ). Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun noted, "The contract inevitably has to be postponed due to the court's decision," adding, "As determined by the UOHS (Czech Anti-Monopoly Authority), there should be no major issues with signing the contract."
Minister Ahn held a meeting with the business press upon arriving in Czech on the afternoon of the 6th (local time), stating, "Before this judgment came out, the competition authority (UOHS) had already dismissed objections twice. (The trip for signing the main contract) was arranged with the Czech government, which thought there would be no major issues and invited us to set a schedule."
KHNP and CEZ were about to finalize the main contract for the construction of two new Dukovany nuclear reactors, but the Czech Administrative Court's acceptance of a preliminary injunction filed by France's EDF made it difficult to sign the contract as initially planned.
Minister Ahn said, "If there are any parts our government can support or clarify, we plan to cooperate as much as possible," adding, "Once everything is resolved, we will actively collaborate on this very important nuclear project for the future power of the Czech Republic."
In response to a question about how long the contract might be delayed, the Minister answered, "I cannot predict. It could be days or months," adding, "It seems the Czech government also hopes there won't be delays due to enormous opportunity costs."
Regarding the schedule for this trip to Czech, he stated, "Only the official contract signing has been postponed due to the administrative court's ruling, and the other procedures will proceed as planned," and noted, "The preparation of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) will also proceed without any issues."
When asked why they rushed to sign the contract despite knowing the results of EDF's injunction application, he stated, "The Czech side invited us, and we were already in a situation where we had completed the legal work for the contract and were waiting," adding, "There were concerns domestically that it was being excessively delayed, but that was not the case at all."
He further explained, "This event is a summit attended by the Czech Prime Minister," noting, "After coordinating the protocol and normal schedules, we were invited by the Czech government to come."
Regarding the timeline for future appeals, he stated, "The appeal must be initiated by Czech Energy Company," and added, "I believe they are currently doing a specific legal review and will likely appeal."
In this regard, KHNP President Hwang Joo-ho mentioned, "CEZ is scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow morning," and added, "They will explain the legal and procedural issues there, and they also stated that they would clarify their thoughts on EDF's lawsuit contents."
When asked if there are plans to communicate directly with EDF like Westinghouse in the U.S., President Hwang drew the line, saying, "There are almost no negotiable items in the contents they raised." Regarding the possibility of the Turkish nuclear project being terminated like when Japan was selected as a preferred negotiator and the final contract fell through, he stated, "In Turkey's case, Japan and the Turkish government negotiated power purchase agreements and financing arrangements, which fell apart due to commercial mismatches," emphasizing, "This case is different."
Minister Ahn stated, "From the Czech's perspective, this project is extremely important for the country and the largest project in Czech," adding, "It was a competitive issue between Westinghouse, EDF, and us, so the Czech side has been very sensitive in maintaining fairness, objectivity, and transparency throughout the process. I observed their efforts very sensitively right up to the last moment of the announcement."
Regarding measures to prevent similar issues in future nuclear exports, he emphasized, "Building trust is important," and noted, "We will strive to ensure transparency and fairness as much as possible, and solidly establish Team Korea's trust to minimize unnecessary legal disputes in future projects."
President Hwang also stated, "In the short term, we must respond to such injunction lawsuits, but close cooperation with the ordering party is crucial," adding, "In the medium to long term, it would be good to strengthen the government-to-government agreement further." He noted, "The established powers in Europe see the nuclear industry as their market, so the fact that we are entering suggests that CEZ truly chose us when considering competitiveness and efficiency. The competitors could not meet that criteria; therefore, it seems they are trying to legally delay the process or use various strategies. I believe such issues will not happen in other regions."
Minister Ahn said, "As the competition authority has clearly ruled twice, and judging by the procedures so far, there should be no issues regarding transparency, objectivity, and fairness," adding, "Team Korea was selected as a business partner by demonstrating capabilities and visions. Do not be worried. There may be unforeseen situations, but we will strive to conclude matters as swiftly as possible, turning this into an opportunity to enhance South Korea's nuclear industry competitiveness and capabilities."