S. Korea to set up committee to boost nuclear power plant exports

By Kim Na-young SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- The government plans to newly establish a public-private committee to boost the efficiency of South Korea's nuclear power plant export system and promote closer cooperation between two major export firms, the industry ministry said Thursday. Under the plan, the new nuclear power plant export planning committee, headed by the director general for nuclear power plant strategy and planning at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, will include executives from Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and other companies, as well as experts in the field. The committee will help the government play a more proactive role in negotiating nuclear power unit export projects with foreign partners amid increasing competition among countries' push to revitalize their nuclear power industry, the ministry said. The government plan also calls for KEPCO and KHNP to jointly develop all export-related projects, except for KHNP's ongoing projects in the Czech Republic and the Philippines, while KEPCO will take the lead in external negotiations. Last year, a South Korean consortium led by KHNP won the estimated 26 trillion-won (US$17.4 billion) deal to build nuclear power units in the Czech Republic. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said the government and companies should work as "one team" to expand South Korea's foothold in the global market, with the goal of ushering in an "era of nuclear renaissance." "To respond more effectively to nuclear power export opportunities involving the United States, the Czech Republic and Vietnam, we will revamp the nuclear export system and work to ultimately strengthen government support for such projects through legislation," he said.