[Anchor]

For us, this is an unreasonable investment fraught with numerous adverse conditions, and its ultimate outcome remains shrouded in uncertainty. Still, securing the export of South Korean nuclear reactors and establishing safety mechanisms for recovering investment returns are considered achievements. Reporting by Park Jaehyeon.

[Reporter]

The South Korean nuclear reactor, the APR1400, was in a situation where construction inside the United States was impossible.

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

Through this negotiation process, the governments of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to a temporary waiver on the relevant clause, opening the way for the construction of two South Korean-type units 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 the global export of South Korean 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.]

Securing a safety net for the method of recovering investment funds, which is the core of the U.S. investment agreement, is also cited as an achievement.

Recently, contrary to the initial agreement to "bundle all projects and settle accounts together," the U.S. had been arguing for settling profits on a project-by-project basis.

Under such circumstances, if a loss occurred in one project, it could not be covered by the profits of another, creating the risk of overall losses.

In the final agreement, South Korea's stance of "settling by bundling everything together" was upheld.

As for profit sharing, it is 5:5 before principal and interest are repaid, and 9:1 between the U.S. and South Korea after repayment. However, it was decided that a 5:5 split will be maintained even for projects where the principal and interest have already been repaid, until all principal and interest are recovered.

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

With the announcement made today (1st) and the initial transfer of $2.4 billion, full-scale investment in the U.S. has begun.

[Kim Yang-hee / Professor of Economics, Finance, and International Trade, Daegu University: Recovering principal and interest is the bare minimum. It shouldn't end there; we need to look at it more comprehensively and strategically—whether we can secure sufficient energy that we need, or acquire critical minerals.]

The government plans to accelerate negotiations in security sectors that South Korea has requested, such as the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.

(Video by Yoon Tae-ho, Graphics by Kim Han-gil and Kim Min-young, Provided by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) (Photo courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)