[천광암 칼럼]Are lawmakers sensible in wanting to break ‘the plate’ on the Czech nuclear power plant after 10 years of effort?

KHNP price competitiveness – timely construction performance
At the last minute, France’s EDF overruled their rival.
There is no end to “Korean dumping” by lawmakers
Do you have ‘nationalism’ and ‘national interests’ in mind?

Cheon Gwang-am Weekly Editorial said, “If the Czech government decides to proceed with the construction of a nuclear power plant in the future, please pay attention so that Korean companies with experience in technology and operation and management can great to be a part of.”

This is what then-President Moon Jae-in said to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš when he visited the Czech Republic on a ‘nuclear power plant sales trip’ in November 2018. Criticism poured in, which ‘ to ask how earnestly President Moon’s ‘nuclear power plant sale’ would have to be, who destroyed the domestic nuclear power industry ecosystem with his ‘nuclear power graduation declaration’, and how encouraging it would be it to other countries. There was nothing wrong with the point.

However, some criticized, ‘What kind of sale of nuclear power plants are you doing in a country where the construction of a nuclear power plant has not yet been confirmed?’ of the ‘nuclear power plant command war’. Nuclear power plants, which are an area of ​​energy security that is directly related to the security of the country and cost more than 10 trillion won per unit to build, do not mean that orders can be won just because the technology and the competitive price. Even before the official plan is finalized, efforts must be made for a long time not only by the government of the relevant country, but also by the National Assembly, business, and the academic world. For the Czech nuclear power plant alone, Korean companies have already officially announced their intention to participate in applications to the Czech government and have been receiving regular orders from the administration Park Geun-hye 10 years ago.

But, of course, until about four years ago, Korea’s chances of winning a nuclear power plant order from the Czech Republic were close to zero. The order from Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear power company that owns the six nuclear power plants currently operating in the Czech Republic and is the most competitive in the world, was almost accepted as fait accompli

It was in April 2021 that ‘heavenly fortune’ came to Korea suddenly. When it was revealed that the Russian government was behind the bombing of a military base in the Czech Republic, relations between the two countries fell to an all-time low, and the Czech government dismissed Last Russian Rosatom.

As a result, the order battle became a three-way battle between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Electric Power Corporation of France (EDF), and Westinghouse of the United States. However, after going bankrupt in 2017, Westinghouse was reduced to using intellectual property rights as a tool to “rip off”, and EDF had fallen into a giant dinosaur without technological competitiveness and prices due to lax regulation. Apart from one variable, ‘French political power’, it can be said that the winner has already been decided at this stage.

The reason I reviewed the progress of the Czech nuclear power plant order was because, if you are not familiar with this process, it is easy to be misled by the recent claim by some members of the opposition party, including the Democratic Party of Korea, to ‘review the unreasonable export of nuclear power plants to the Czech Republic.’ The main arguments they say are ‘turning the tables’ are ‘dumping bidding’ and ‘possibility of higher construction costs’.

First, they claim that “Czech media outlets reported that Yoon Seok-yeol’s government was “proposing a dumping price.” To make an argument that could interfere with our companies in a contract battle where national interests are at stake, he would have to clearly state which media company he is referring to. the article and what is the basis for believing the article, but it is. it’s just a one-word argument that has no end. In a 58-line long article dated May 16 this year by the economic portal ‘Ekonomics Deneek’, it was mentioned in just two sentences: “Informed sources see the possibility of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as to be higher. “They are said to have made an offer that could not be refused at a near-dumping price.”

In addition, lawmakers cited the cases of Britain’s Hinckley Nuclear Power Plant and Finland’s Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant as prime evidence that construction time would be longer than expected and construction costs would rise, which is just unusual. The Hinckley nuclear power plant is one of EDF’s representative failure cases in France, while the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant is a project with a story in which the company that supplied the nuclear reactor to EDF broke away and took over the construction, but then the company was completely destroyed and then absorbed and integrated into EDF.

The biggest reason why EDF was dismissed was because of its poor price competitiveness and the failure of these projects, which put a question mark on its construction capabilities. On the other hand, the main reason that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was selected was due to the proven ability to ‘build at a specific construction cost within the scheduled time.’ What is the basis for thinking that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power will follow the failure of EDF, which was less competitive?

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power remains the ‘negotiating party of choice’ for the Czech nuclear power plant. There is a long way to go before the final contract is signed in March next year. There are several obstacles to overcome. Westinghouse continues to bounce, and EDF continues to bounce. Although we cannot help the construction battles of our companies, which we have put in a lot of effort and meticulous effort over 10 years, I can only ask if there is nationalism or national interest in the minds of the lawmakers who want to break it down. game as a whole’.