Türkiye has presented its expanding energy investment pipeline and invited South Korean companies to pursue joint projects during a high-level roundtable in Seoul, hosted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), according to Energy & Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
He said the discussions with senior executives from leading South Korean energy, mining, and industrial companies focused on Türkiye’s growing renewable energy capacity, its nuclear energy programme, hydrocarbon exploration efforts, and its strategy toward securing critical minerals needed for energy technologies.
Bayraktar told participants that Türkiye is offering a stable and predictable market for investors following recent reforms, while also creating opportunities linked to the country’s broader energy transition. “Our country offers investors a predictable market with new reforms and broad investment potential during the energy transition process,” he said.
He added that Türkiye is open to working with South Korean partners on projects both domestically and internationally, highlighting the country’s project pipeline and long-term cooperation plans. “With our strong project portfolio, we are ready for concrete cooperation that we will develop together both in Türkiye and in third countries,” Bayraktar said. “We value long-term partnerships and want to expand sustainable investments based on mutual benefit.”
Bayraktar, who was in Seoul to attend the ninth Türkiye–South Korea Joint Economic Commission meeting, also held separate talks with Kim Dong-Cheol, CEO of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), to review nuclear energy cooperation and ongoing technical work related to Türkiye’s planned nuclear projects.
Türkiye has been pushing ahead with nuclear energy development, with South Korea emerging as a potential partner after bilateral cooperation agreements were signed during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Ankara in November 2025 to advance talks on nuclear power projects.
Türkiye is preparing to begin operations at the first reactor of the Akkuyu NPP built by Rosatom in the coming months, while also holding talks with potential partners for two additional planned NPPs in the northern province of Sinop and the Thrace region.
“The Sinop Nuclear Power Plant Project is also of great importance for our long-term energy supply security and our 2053 net-zero emission target,” Bayraktar said. He confirmed that technical reviews and feasibility work are ongoing with KEPCO as both sides continue evaluating potential cooperation on the project.
He reiterated Türkiye’s goal of reaching 20 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2050 “We are a growing market and our demand is constantly increasing,” he said. “The current construction is being carried out by a Russian company, but within the scope of our nuclear vision, we are in very close and intensive talks with KEPCO for new reactors.”
On the sidelines of the meeting, Bayraktar held talks with South Korea’s Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-hwan. In a post on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, he said that they reviewed existing partnerships and explored new opportunities in renewable energy, nuclear power and electricity transmission infrastructure.
Bayraktar also met South Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jung-kwan to discuss cooperation in nuclear energy and critical minerals. He said Türkiye sees nuclear power as a key pillar of its energy supply security in line with its 2053 net-zero emissions target.
“We evaluated areas of joint work that will strengthen technical cooperation in nuclear technologies, engineering capacity and local industry contributions,” he said. “We also discussed concrete cooperation options that will enhance the complementary capacities of the two countries in the field of critical minerals.”
