This file photo taken Oct. 14, 2024, shows Whang Joo-ho, president of the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., answering lawmakers’ questions during a parliamentary audit. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The chief of the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) confirmed Tuesday the company has closed operations in Poland amid speculations that its agreement with U.S. energy firm Westinghouse over an intellectual property (IP) dispute influenced the decision.
“After the new Polish administration took office … the country decided to drop the state-owned enterprise projects (in the nuclear power sector) … and that is why we withdrew our business there,” KHNP President Whang Joo-ho said during a meeting with the parliamentary industry committee.
Poland is the fourth European country the KHNP decided to pull out of since it reached an IP dispute settlement with Westinghouse in January this year, following Sweden, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
Westinghouse had accused the Korean company of infringing on its IP, claiming the KHNP’s APR 1000 and APR1400 plant designs utilize its licensed technology, but the two sides reached a settlement in January.
The deal removed a major hurdle for the KHNP-led Korean consortium to sign a final contract in June, with an estimated value of 26 trillion won (US$18.7 billion), to build two nuclear power units in the Czech Republic.
The Czech deal, which marked South Korea’s first overseas nuclear power plant contract since 2009, was expected to open new doors for Korean firms seeking business opportunities in Europe.
This undated file photo provided by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. shows the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic. (Yonhap)
But controversy brewed following media reports that the KHNP-Westinghouse deal, the details of which remain undisclosed, includes a condition requiring Korean companies to pass the latter’s technology independence verification when independently developing and exporting next-generation nuclear reactors.
The 50-year deal is also said to include provisions requiring the KHNP to sign a goods and services purchase contract worth about $650 million with Westinghouse per export of a single nuclear reactor, and to pay $175 million per reactor in technology licensing fees.
Asked whether the KHNP believes the deal with Westinghouse was fair, Whang said, “As the party accepting the terms, I cannot say it was fair,” but added, “I believe it is something we can endure and still make a profit from.”
Whang refused to confirm the details of the deal, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
Earlier in the day, the presidential office said it has ordered the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to review whether the deal was signed under due process.
(Yonhap)
