Czech Republic finalizes $18B nuclear power contract with Korea, overcoming French opposition

The Czech Republic signed a final contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to build two nuclear reactors on Wednesday, just hours after the country’s Supreme Administrative Court cleared the way for the deal.

Cooling towers operating at the Dukovany nuclear power plant operated by CEZ AS, near the village of Dukovany, Czech Republic, on May 12, 2025 [EPA/YONHAP]

The Czech Republic signed a final contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to build two nuclear reactors on Wednesday, just hours after the country’s Supreme Administrative Court cleared the way for the deal.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced the agreement during a live press conference on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

KHNP confirmed the signing shortly afterward.

Earlier the same day, the Supreme Administrative Court lifted a lower court’s injunction that had temporarily blocked the signing of the contract between KHNP and Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), a subsidiary of Czech state-owned utility CEZ.

The two parties had expected to finalize the contract on May 7, but the signing was delayed after France’s EDF, a competing bidder in the tender process, sued to block it. The Brno Regional Court halted the deal, estimated at $18 billion, on May 6.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]