How to thwart a nuclear energy renaissance?

The nuclear energy renaissance the conservative government champions can materialize only when the country is united toward the goal.

The Democratic Party (DP) has gone too far in playing the party-pooper in Korea’s celebration of landing a preliminary landmark deal to build nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic. The majority party vowed to examine the economic value of the export in a legislative hearing by accusing the state-led consortium of winning the order through a cheap bid. The DP plans to summon the chairman of the builder in the consortium.

DP policy chief Jin Sung-joon on Monday pledged to scrutinize the real economic value of the deal to explore whether the government excessively lowered its bid price only to win the bid. The DP claimed that the country could lose billions of dollars in tax funds from the unprofitable export.

The Czech government in July selected the Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as the preferred bidder to the project to build two reactors in Dukovany at an estimated cost of 24 trillion won ($17.3 billion). The largest-ever reactor deal will encompass all the hands involved in the design of the 1,000-megawatt reactor grids, purchase of equipment, construction, trial operation and fuel supply. The deal can help Korea win orders across Europe to modernize their aged reactors. The DP is spoiling the feat by claiming that Korea was able to beat its French counterpart EDF by bidding cheaply.

The argument doesn’t make sense. Korea could compete at a lower price thanks to its competitiveness. According to the World Nuclear Association data of 2021, the cost of reactor construction by Korea was estimated at $3,571 per kilowatt-hour, nearly half of France’s $7,931. Korea also proved its construction and operation capabilities through the reactors running in the United Arab Emirates. The opposition is confusing competitiveness with price dumping.

The DP also questions the profitability of the deal that promises to grant Czech companies 60 percent of the construction deals. But profit margin depends on core technologies, and Korea can expect long-term returns through operation and maintenance.

The Korean consortium has just won the preliminary contract. Much can happen between now and the final contract signing in March. U.S. company Westinghouse’s lawsuit to claim intellectual property rights to the reactor design also should be solved. Lawmakers must look into economic feasibility and form a united team to win a monumental deal. The opposition’s faultfinding can only appear to have a partisan motive with little regard for national interests. The liberal party is liable for ruining our vibrant reactor habitat with its nuclear phase-out policy when it was the governing party. The industry has finally gotten a resuscitating momentum. The nuclear energy renaissance the conservative government champions can materialize only when the country is united toward the goal.