Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport expressed concerns about the delays caused by the Czech court's acceptance of the injunction regarding the Czech nuclear power plant contract, stating, "Since the Czech government has decided, if the injunction issue is resolved in the Czech court, the contract can be executed immediately."

After attending the "Construction Site Fall Prevention Seminar" held at the Construction Hall in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 8th, Minister Park said, "If the court injunction is lifted, the rest will not be a problem."

Minister Park Sang-woo gives a congratulatory speech at the seminar for preventing construction site falls held at the Construction Center in Gangnam, Seoul, on Nov. 8 in the afternoon. /Courtesy of Bang Jae-hyuk

Previously, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and a subsidiary of ČEZ were scheduled to sign the main contract for the construction of Units 5 and 6 of the Dukovany nuclear power plant on the 7th.

However, on the 6th, just before the contract, the Regional Court of Brno in the Czech Republic accepted an injunction prohibiting the contract until the outcome of the lawsuit filed by Électricité de France is determined.

In response, Minister Ahn Duk-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy noted during a press conference shortly after arriving in Prague, Czech Republic, on the 7th (local time), "There are unexpected situations, but we will do our best to resolve this as quickly as possible and turn it into an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness and capabilities of South Korea's nuclear power industry," and added, "Since the Czech Antimonopoly Authority (UOHS) has clearly ruled on the same matter twice, I believe there will not be significant issues in the main lawsuit."

Meanwhile, Minister Park commented on discussions regarding infrastructure cooperation unrelated to nuclear power with the Czech Republic, stating, "There were discussions related to high-speed rail, and the Czech government expressed a desire for us to co-invest in Ukraine's reconstruction project." He also mentioned, "I told the Czech Prime Minister that the direct flight frequency between South Korea and the Czech Republic has increased from four to seven times a week, and he responded that the increase in direct flights was a good development and asked us to enhance exchanges between the two countries."