Trade, Industry and Energy Deputy Minister Cheon Young-gil speaks at the Clean Hydrogen Trade Initiative at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

By Lee Kyung-min

The government is accelerating efforts to formulate long-term strategies for facilitating export of nuclear energy systems, as underpinned by stronger cooperation with prospective buyer countries in energy, economic and human exchanges, a team of government officials said Friday.

The specifics of the previous memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Korea's European peers will be implemented by a working-level group of ministry officials, reflecting the concerns and suggestions of the business community.

A greater number of diverse post-export growth strategies will be outlined to provide maintenance of nuclear power generators, power plants, and sales of key replacement equipment and parts needed for the stable and safe operation of nuclear facilities.

The private-public cooperative efforts for fine-tuning the strategies came on the heels of criticism over the country's complacency and lack of preparedness in elevating the recently booming export industry to a stable source of growth.

Some local media outlets downplayed the importance of Korea having won a 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) construction order last week for power plants in El Dabaa, Egypt, saying Korea's role is secondary and close to negligible in the Russia-led 40 trillion won business, and that Korea will provide construction equipment and materials, not key nuclear technologies. The energy ministry has since refuted the characterization, adding the parts are critical for the safe and stable operation of power plants.

"Korea has won a large order to export nuclear power systems, a feat achieved 13 years since winning the bid to build the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, the first nuclear power plant in the country, in 2009," Trade, Industry and Energy Deputy Minister Cheon Young-gil said at a meeting held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Friday.

"We need to fortify strategies to help the local nuclear industry thrive in the years to come, thereby recovering years of losses from a slowdown."

The meeting was attended by at least nine government ministries including finance, land, foreign and defense as well as a dozen state-run organizations, banks and private firms.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp., a state-run energy firm, will hold a press briefing next week on the sales conditions of the key parts as well as timeline and overall process following the orders won recently in Egypt.