Nuclear energy and global security: topics on the table during South Korean president’s visit to Czechia
The South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has just paid a two-day official visit to Czechia. The visit is part of efforts to form even closer ties between South Korea and Czechia, including the plans to have Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) build two new nuclear reactors here.
When President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived at Václav Havel Airport on Thursday afternoon, he was greeted on a red carpet by the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. The South Korean president and his wife Kim Keon Hee were then received at the gates of Prague Castle by President Petr Pavel, First Lady Eva Pavlová and an honour guard of soldiers. The party paid a visit to the medieval Vladislav Hall, where the Bohemian crown jewels are now on display, before a formal dinner in the evening.
All the pageantry and warm welcome reflect a close economic and political relationship between Czechia and South Korea, despite their geographical distance. South Korea is one of Czechia’s most important economic partners, ranking third in terms of turnover among non-European countries (after China and the USA) and first in non-European investment. In a post on the platform X, President Pavel acknowledged the many connections, which include a flourishing tourism industry, facilitated by four flights a week between Prague and Seoul.
The visit also has the practical goal of ensuring that a new nuclear-power project will run smoothly. In July, Czechia selected Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to build at least two new nuclear reactors in the country, as part of its bigger-ever energy investment drive. The project will be South Korea’s second foreign nuclear-plant project, and is worth 17.3 billion US dollars. The reactors will be built in Dukovany, a municipality in the south of the Vysočina region, and the first should be operational by 2036. As part of the deal agreed by both sides, sixty percent of companies involved in construction will be Czech. President Pavel described the project as a “new era” for Czech-Korean cooperation in the fields of technology, industry and business.
However, the Czech government’s choice of KHNP is currently being challenged by the French state energy company EDF and the American firm Westinghouse. Ahead of the visit, President Yoon stated that one of the trip’s top priorities is to make sure the final contract is signed successfully. Friday’s agenda began with a business forum co-hosted with President Petr Pavel, before President Yoon joined Prime Minister Petr Fiala on a visit to Doosan Škoda Power a Škoda Nuclear Engineering in Pilsen.
There is also a political element to the South Korean president’s presence in Czechia, since the two countries are looking to collaborate more closely on issues of global security, notably military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. President Yoon called the two countries’ strengthened partnership, and alleged military transactions, “reckless and irrational provocations that threaten peace and stability”. The South Korean government has previously warned that it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, in addition to humanitarian support. Yesterday Foreign Ministers Jan Lipavský and Cho Tae-yul signed a memorandum of understanding, affirming their commitment to future reconstruction projects in Ukraine.
