Yoon embarks on four-day Czech trip to cement nuclear deal

President Yoon Suk Yeol began a four-day official visit to the Czech Republic Thursday to deepen economic cooperation with the Central European country and further cement a major nuclear plant project.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee, departs from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Thursday morning to head for an official four-day visit to the Czech Republic. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol began a four-day official visit to the Czech Republic Thursday to deepen economic cooperation with the Central European country and further cement a major nuclear plant project.

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee departed for Prague from the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, around 9 a.m. Thursday morning. During the visit, Yoon is scheduled to hold a bilateral summit with Czech President Petr Pavel to expand cooperation in nuclear energy, trade, investment, technology and other sectors. He is also scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Petr Fiala and attend business-related events.

Ahead of the trip, Yoon told Reuters in an interview published Thursday that Korea is confident it can overcome any obstacles for the nuclear plant project, despite appeals against the deal filed by U.S. company Westinghouse and France's EDF.

Yoon said his trip was partly aimed at ensuring the final contract was concluded seamlessly, adding that the project's success was of "paramount importance."

In July, the Czech government decided on a Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany in an estimated 24 trillion ($17.3 billion) won project. The consortium includes Korean companies Doosan Enerbility and Daewoo Engineering & Construction. The two sides are currently in negotiations on a legally binding agreement to be inked next March.

If a deal is finalized, it will mark the first time since 2009 that Korea has won an overseas nuclear power plant construction project, following its contract to build the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite appeals filed last month by Westinghouse Electric and EDF, a rival bidder, against the Czech government's decision to select Korea's KHNP, Czech officials have assured that they are confident the nuclear plant deal will follow through. Tomas Pojar, the national security adviser of the Czech government, likewise conveyed such a message to the presidential office during a visit to Seoul earlier in the month. Yoon's visit is expected to further lay the groundwork for a smooth proceeding for the final deal.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and Czech National Security Adviser Tomas Pojar shake hands during a meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul, on Sept. 4, ahead of Yoon's trip to Prague for a bilateral summit. [YONHAP]

For the Czech trip, Yoon was joined by a business delegation representing some 50 companies. This includes leaders of Korea's top four conglomerates — Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

On Thursday in Prague, Yoon and first lady Kim will be received by Pavel for an official welcome ceremony. Yoon and Pavel, a former army general, will later hold a bilateral summit, followed by a joint press conference and an official dinner hosted by the Czech president, attended by political and business leaders of both countries.

On Friday, Yoon and Pavel will attend a Korea-Czech business forum, co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Czech Chamber of Commerce.

Yoon and Czech Prime Minister Fiala are scheduled to travel to Pilsen, an industrial city in western Bohemia near Prague, and inspect a nuclear power plant contractor. They will attend a working lunch, take part in a signing ceremony of memorandums of understanding (MOU) and hold a joint news conference.

The MOUs are expected to institutionalize bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including trade, investment, advanced technologies and nuclear energy.

Later Friday, Yoon will hold talks with Milos Vystrcil, speaker of the Czech Senate, and Marketa Pekarova Adamova, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament.

The presidential couple will attend a dinner meeting with Koreans living in the Czech Republic on Friday evening.

They are set to return to Seoul Sunday.

This marks the first visit by a Korean president to the Czech Republic in nine years, following then President Park Geun-hye's trip in December 2015.

The presidential visit to Prague will enable Korea and the Czech Republic to establish a "nuclear energy alliance," Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, underscored in a press briefing on Sept. 12.

He added that through the visit, Yoon will convey to the Czech side "Team Korea's firm will to cooperate in successfully completing the nuclear power plant project," and "actively engage in sales diplomacy so that Korean companies can secure orders for the nuclear power plant project."

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, Korea has steadily expanded economic cooperation with the Czech Republic, a manufacturing powerhouse, and more than 100 Korean companies, including Hyundai Motor, are currently present in the country.

Park Chun-sup, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said in a briefing last week that the two sides will focus on cooperation including areas such as nuclear energy, industrial, trade and investment, as well as Ukraine's reconstruction.

He added the business forum will discuss ways to cooperate on advanced industries, high-speed rail and the reconstruction of Ukraine.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]