Korea, Czech Republic sign 56 MOUs, agreements through Yoon’s visit

Korea and the Czech Republic signed a total of 56 memorandums of understanding (MOU) and other documents during President Yoon Suk Yeol's official visit to the Central European nation covering various sectors including nuclear energy cooperation.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes hands with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala after holding a joint news conference at Liechtenstein Palace in Prague on Friday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

PRAGUE — Korea and the Czech Republic signed a total of 56 memorandums of understanding (MOU) and other documents during President Yoon Suk Yeol's official visit to the Central European nation that covered various sectors including nuclear energy cooperation.

The MOUs and documents, signed between the two governments, institutions and companies during Yoon's visit to the Czech Republic, covered various sectors and industries to strengthen the countries' bilateral strategic partnership.

Yoon embarked on a four-day official trip to the Czech Republic to establish a nuclear energy alliance between the two countries and lay the foundation for cooperation across the full cycle of the nuclear power plant ecosystem.

In July, the Czech government selected a Korean consortium comprised of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Doosan Enerbility and Daewoo Engineering & Construction as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany, a project worth an estimated 24 trillion won ($17.3 billion).

During a joint visit to turbine maker Doosan Skoda Power in Plzen, an industrial city in western Bohemia southwest of Prague, Yoon and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala attended a ceremony to sign a nuclear power plant life cycle cooperation agreement. The two sides sealed a total of 13 MOUs related to the nuclear power plant ecosystem, including reactor design and operation, nuclear fuel and waste management.

Later Friday, Yoon and Fiala held a working luncheon meeting in Prague and held a joint news conference reflecting on the results of their talks.

“I hope that Korea and the Czech Republic, as strategic partners, will be reborn as a nuclear energy alliance that looks forward to the next 100 years together,” Yoon said in a joint news conference with Fiala Friday.

He noted that the Korean government plans to invest some $37 million over the next decade to promote joint research and development in areas such as nuclear fuel technology, synthetic pharmaceuticals and artificial intelligence (AI) to further advance bilateral scientific and technological cooperation.

Fiala also highlighted that the increase in the number of flights between the two countries will also provide an opportunity to develop the strategic partnership in a more “meaningful” way.

Yoon and Fiala issued a joint statement on the strengthening of the strategic partnership, sharing their intent to further bolster cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy, trade and investment, science, technology and innovation, ICT, cybersecurity, infrastructure and transportation, tourism, culture and sports.

The leaders also recognized the “close interconnection between the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific,” discussing Russian aggression against Ukraine and developments on the Korean Peninsula, and expressed their support for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

On Friday, the two countries' foreign ministries adopted an action plan for the implementation of the strategic partnership between Korea and the Czech Republic for 2025 to 2027.

The plan covered cooperation in politics and security; economy, industry and transportation; science, technology and innovation; environmental protection and climate change; culture, education and people-to-people exchanges; and East Asia, Indo-Pacific and Korean Peninsula issues.

Regarding infrastructure cooperation, the two agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the development, operation, maintenance and financing of high-speed rail.

The two countries agreed to support the development of comprehensive economic cooperation in the field of advanced manufacturing, supply chains, carbon-free energy, civil nuclear energy and collaborative actions through supply chain and energy dialogue between their respective trade ministries.

They also agreed to advance cooperation in high-tech industries such as nuclear power plants, batteries, semiconductors, future vehicles and robotics.

Regarding the designation of KHNP as preferred bidder for the new nuclear power plant project, the two sides agreed to pursue strategic cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy and research and development. They also expressed support for the involvement of Czech industry in the implementation of KHNP's new nuclear power source projects in the Czech Republic.

The two countries established a strategic partnership in 2015, and next year marks their 35th anniversary of bilateral ties following the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990. The Czech prime minister is scheduled to visit Seoul next year to mark that anniversary.

During the summit between Yoon and Czech President Petr Pavel on Thursday, the first MOU on Ukraine reconstruction cooperation was signed between the two countries' foreign ministries, detailing the full support of their governments when companies from both countries participate in reconstruction projects in Ukraine in the future, which could include transportation and infrastructure.

The two sides are currently in negotiations regarding a legally binding agreement for the Dukovany nuclear power plant project set to be inked next March. They face a possible hurdle after U.S. company Westinghouse Electric and France's EDF, a rival bidder, filed appeals against the Czech government's decision to select Korea's KHNP last month.

If a final deal is inked, 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.

On Friday, Yoon met with Milos Vystrcil, president and speaker of the Czech senate, and Marketa Pekarova Adamova, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, calling for the Czech parliament to support the nuclear power plant project.”

A senior government official who accompanied Yoon told reporters in Prague, “Long conversations with the Czech prime minister, president and cabinet members indicated that they were not considering any other alternative partner for the Dukovany than Korea.”

The official said that there was “no indication of another scenario,” expressing full confidence that a “win-win partnership” would be forged and that the two sides would successfully conclude the nuclear power plant contract so that the “nuclear energy alliance between the two countries will be able to form a strong partnership in other comprehensive strategic industries in the coming decades.”

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee were set to wrap up the Czech trip Saturday and return to Seoul Sunday.

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