South Korea’s nuclear expertise could be a central bargaining tool as President Lee Jae Myung meets US President Donald Trump in Washington with speculation that a bilateral nuclear energy partnership may be discussed, Korea Times reports.
This follows Seoul’s success in July in persuading Washington to scale back proposed tariffs on Korean imports from 25% to 15%, in return for investment commitments to support the struggling US shipbuilding sector.
Ahead of the summit, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) CEO Whang Joo-ho travelled to Washington for a series of meetings with US nuclear power industry leaders. Talks are expected to focus on nuclear fuel and small modular reactor (SMR) technologies. Whang was joined by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) CEO Kim Dong-cheol. South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy, Kim Jung-kwan, has also indicated that he is exploring every possible avenue for nuclear collaboration with the US.
The possibility of a joint venture between KHNP and Westinghouse is expected to be discussed. Whang did not meet with Westinghouse executives, but KHNP has confirmed that such a venture is being considered, albeit at an early stage.
The US has not built a new nuclear plant since 2013, despite plans to quadruple its generating capacity from 100 GWe to 400 GWe by 2050. “Westinghouse retains core intellectual property but lacks construction capacity, an area where South Korean firms excel,” Korea Times said.
According to Korea Economic Daily (KED), KHNP is already in talks with Westinghouse to form a joint venture with the aim of South Korea entering the US nuclear market as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to quadruple nuclear power capacity. However, details about the ownership structure of the JV and the timing of its launch are still under negotiation.
“The two countries are expected to discuss ways to cooperate on nuclear power, including building nuclear power plants in the US,” a Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s SME and startup committee told KED. “For Westinghouse, a partnership would improve its chances of winning US government nuclear contracts by working with South Korean companies that have the engineering, maintenance and repair capabilities needed for such projects.”
According to KED, South Korean nuclear officials said that a partnership between KHNP and Westinghouse would be a win-win strategy. Westinghouse owns the intellectual property for core nuclear power technology but lacks engineering capacity. It would be advantageous to partner with South Korea not only in the US, but also in Europe and other countries, they noted.
The two companies had competed for a nuclear plant contract in the Czech Republic, along with France’s EDF. In 2022, Westinghouse sued KHNP in a US federal court, alleging intellectual property infringement. In 2024, KHNP was named as the preferred bidder. Before finalising the deal with the Czech Republic in May, KHNP entered into an agreement with Westinghouse to resolve the dispute.
Forming a JV was not part of the settlement agreement, in which Korea made significant concessions, drawing strong criticism. Under the terms of the agreement with Westinghouse, South Korea is barred from bidding on nuclear power reactors in the European Union, except in the Czech Republic, as well as in North America and Japan.
South Korea must guarantee the purchase of goods and services worth $650m from Westinghouse per reactor, along with $175m in royalties, when exporting nuclear plants. KHNP must also verify that the technology is its own when exporting SMRs. The presidential office has now ordered an inquiry into whether the deal placed excessive long-term obligations on Korean firms.
However, nuclear industry officials said South Korea would be an ideal partner for Westinghouse and that resolving their conflict would help Korea to expand into the US nuclear market. “In the world, it’s only EDF and KHNP that can oversee the entire process of nuclear plant from design and construction to test operations, management, maintenance and repair,” said Chung Dong-Wook Professor of energy system engineering at Chung-Ang University. Attention now centres on whether a new joint venture could ease tensions and strengthen bilateral nuclear ties during Lee’s US visit.
