Czech Nuclear Power Plant Bidding Reviewed Due to Designs Copying Korea, Presidential Office ‘Notifies’
It appears that the Czech National Security Advisor ‘notified’ President Yoon Seok-yeol of the fact that the Czech National Security Advisor is undergoing a review due to the Korean nuclear power plant technology copying the US design.
On the 3rd, the Czech Antimonopoly Office (UOHS) announced in a statement that “last week, we received objections from Westinghouse and EDF regarding the nuclear power plant construction bidding process,” and that “the related administrative procedures have begun. We will not disclose any further information on the progress until the results are out.”
On the 4th, National Security Advisor Czego Tomasz Pojar met with President Yoon and said, “The Czech government hopes to strengthen comprehensive cooperation with Korea not only in the nuclear power sector but also in industry, investment, defense, transportation, and research and development (R&D),” and President Yoon said, “I am pleased that the two countries, which share core values such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, are cooperating closely in various fields,” the Presidential Office announced.
The Czech National Security Advisor met with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol on the 4th and then with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun on the 5th, and on the 5th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that “Minister Cho will hold a bilateral meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavski on the morning of the 9th.”
On the 27th of last month, Westinghouse announced a statement appealing to the Czech UOHS, stating that “KHNP’s APR1000 and APR1400 plant designs utilize the Generation II System 80 technology approved by Westinghouse,” and the Czech Republic announced the “initiation of an investigation” just one week later.
A Korean nuclear power expert anonymously stated to the Hankook Ilbo on the 5th that “both the APR1400 exported to Barakah (UAE) and the APR1000 exported to the Czech Republic were independently developed in Korea, but it cannot be denied that they were made based on the ‘System80’ that Westinghouse acquired when it acquired the American nuclear power company ABB-CE.”
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated in its National Assembly response on the 5th that “there is room for cooperation in facility supply, as in the case of the UAE Barakah nuclear power plant.”
In the 2009 Barakah nuclear power plant project, the government and KEPCO signed a contract to purchase core technology materials such as reactor instrumentation and control systems and cooling systems from Westinghouse, which claimed original technology, for $2 billion.