A '$200 Billion' Investment with Heavy Odds: What Was Gained?

[Anchor]

This is an irrational investment where we had to shoulder various adverse conditions, and even the outcomes remain murky. Securing the export of Korean-style nuclear reactors and establishing safety mechanisms for recovering investment returns are cited as achievements.

Reporter Park Jaehyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Building the Korean-style nuclear reactor, the APR1400, in the United States had been impossible.

This was because Westinghouse, which holds the intellectual property rights, restricted exportable regions during the agreement process between Korea Electric Power Corporation and the U.S. nuclear company last year.

Through the recent negotiation process, South Korea and the United States agreed on a temporary waiver regarding that clause, opening the way for the construction of two Korean-style reactors out of a total of eight nuclear power plants.

Most major components and materials will be supplied by South Korean companies, which is expected to help with global exports of Korean-style nuclear reactors moving forward.

[Jung Bum-jin / Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung Hee University: "People will be able to judge that 'a power plant permitted and operated in the U.S. must be safe.' It becomes a good example for advancing into other countries as well."]
Securing a safety valve for the method of recovering investment funds—the core of the agreement on investment in the U.S.—is also considered an achievement.

Recently, contrary to the initial agreement to "bundle and settle all projects together," the United States had argued for settling profits on a project-by-project basis.

If done this way, losses from one project could not be covered by profits from another, creating the risk of overall losses.

In the final agreement, South Korea's stance of "bundling and settling the whole" was accepted.

Regarding profit sharing, it is 5:5 until the principal and interest are repaid, and 9:1 between the U.S. and South Korea after repayment. However, for projects where the principal and interest have already been repaid, the 5:5 ratio will be maintained until all principal and interest across the board are recovered.

A clause was also added allowing both countries to consult and revise plans and budgets if profitability is significantly impaired.

With the announcement today (October 1), the first remittance of $2.4 billion took place, kicking off full-scale investment in the U.S.

[Kim Yang-hee / Professor of Economics, Finance and Trade, Daegu University: "Recovering principal and interest is a bare minimum. It shouldn't just end there; we need to look at it more complexly and strategically, such as whether we can secure the energy we need or acquire critical minerals."]
The government plans to accelerate negotiations in security areas that South Korea has demanded, such as the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines.

(Video by Yoon Tae-ho, Design by Kim Han-gil and Kim Min-young, Footage provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.