By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young | South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Czech President Petr Pavel held a summit in Prague on Sept. 19 (local time) and said that the dispute with US-based Westinghouse over the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant will be resolved amicably.

 

“Regarding the issue of intellectual property rights, our two governments share a firm understanding of nuclear power cooperation, and the Seoul government is supporting the amicable resolution of the issue between the Korean and US companies,” Yoon said at a press conference after the summit, adding, ”I believe and am confident that it will be resolved as well as it was in the case of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).”

 

 

“Nothing is certain before the final agreement is signed, but it is beneficial for the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea, and the United States to see this dispute resolved successfully,” Pavel said, adding, “I think it is beneficial for both sides to see some kind of agreement without dragging it out for a long time. So I believe that it will be resolved successfully, and there are bad scenarios, but they are not likely.”

 

“We are optimistic about the finalization of the project, and we will work together to make this project a new basis for the development of bilateral relations,” Pavel said during the expanded meeting.

 

“If the contract for the Dukovany NPP is finalized and signed, I think it will be a way to take our economic and industrial cooperation and scientific and technological cooperation to a higher level,” Yoon said. “It will be a nuclear alliance because we will work together not only to develop new technologies, but also to train nuclear power personnel. Building a nuclear power plant together means a step forward in our strategic cooperation,” he said, adding, ”I believe that cooperation in high technology and advanced science will be further expanded.”

“If we want to achieve carbon-neutral clean energy, we have no choice but to use nuclear power. There is no other way,” he said, adding, ”There is great potential for Korea and the Czech Republic to cooperate not only in the Czech Republic, but also in other European countries such as Poland and Slovakia, and together we can expand into third countries.”

 

 

Yoon makes joint press statement with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala

 

On September 20, President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic held talks on the sidelines of President Yoon's official visit to the Czech Republic from September 19 to 21, 2024.

 

During the meeting, the two sides recalled that the Republic of Korea and the Czech Republic established a strategic partnership in 2015, and affirmed the solid foundation of their friendly relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, based on common interests and shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

 

They noted with satisfaction that the two sides have developed extensive cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, politics, security, science and technology, education, culture, tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and a wide range of regional and international issues. The two sides also emphasized that there is enormous potential for bilateral cooperation in additional areas of mutual interest.

 

Noting that the upcoming year 2025 will mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership, the two sides agreed that the two countries are ready to take a leap forward to a higher quality of cooperation.

 

Recalling the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Korea and the Czech Republic, adopted in February 2015 on the occasion of the visit of the then Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, the two sides shared their desire to further strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership, focusing on nuclear energy, trade and investment, science, technology and innovation, information and communication technology, cybersecurity, transportation and infrastructure, tourism, culture, and sports.

 

Sharing a vision of building a more diversified, robust, and future-oriented partnership, the two sides welcomed the adoption of the 2025-2027 Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Korea and the Czech Republic on the occasion of the meeting between President Yoon and Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

 

Taking into account the changing geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics, the two sides emphasized the need to respond together to the global challenges they jointly face, including threats to the existing norm-based order, violations of international law, weapons of mass destruction, global supply chain disruptions, energy crises, climate change, and cyber threats. In this regard, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to playing a greater role and responsibility in the international arena, united by the same goal of contributing to international peace, security, democracy and prosperity.

 

Recognizing the close interconnectedness of security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, the two sides shared views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine and North Korea's and Russia's violations of UN Security Council resolutions. The two sides reaffirmed their assessment of each other's initiatives and efforts to achieve a peaceful, reunified Korean Peninsula that is nuclear-free, free and prosperous. Both sides expressed their support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

 

President Yoon visits Doosan Skoda Power in Czech Republic

 

President Yoon visited Doosan Skoda Power, a company with original technology for power generation turbines, and Skoda JS, a company producing nuclear power plant equipment, in Plzen, Czech Republic, along with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, on Sept. 20.

 

Plzen is located about an hour southwest of the capital city of Prague and is a city with a developed defense, heavy industry, and machinery industry.

 

Immediately after their arrival, President Yoon and Prime Minister Fiala attended the “Nuclear Power Plant Life Cycle Cooperation Agreement” ceremony, which was attended by companies, institutions, and organizations related to nuclear power in both countries and Doosan Skoda Power employees. 

 

A total of 13 MOUs were signed on the occasion, covering key sectors of the nuclear ecosystem, including nuclear power plant design, operation, nuclear fuel, and waste management. The two leaders attended the signing ceremony of five of these MOUs, congratulating the Czech Republic and the Republic of Korea on the full-scale cooperation on nuclear power and encouraging the parties involved.

 

In particular, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Doosan Enerbility, and Doosan Skoda Power, the preferred bidder for the Czech nuclear power plant construction project, signed an agreement at the ceremony that confirms the use of turbines produced by Doosan Skoda Power in Plzen for the new Czech nuclear power plant once KHNP signs the final contract for the project in March next year. With this agreement, Korea and the Czech Republic have taken the first step toward realizing the vision of “nuclear power plants built by two countries together.”

 

Also at the signing ceremony, the two ministries of industry, which are in charge of nuclear power policy, signed an MOU to cooperate in all areas of the nuclear power ecosystem, from nuclear power plant construction to technology development and human resource training, and to actively support private sector cooperation. 

In addition, MOUs were also signed between the two countries' nuclear power organizations to cooperate in building a nuclear power ecosystem, such as ▸ cooperation in training nuclear power experts between universities in both countries, ▸ joint research on nuclear power technology between R&D support organizations, and ▸ establishment of a supply chain for additional equipment other than turbines between associations.

 

After the signing ceremony, President Yoon and Prime Minister Fiala jointly signed the blades of the turbine. The two leaders' joint signing signaled their commitment to work together to build nuclear power plants in South Korea and the Czech Republic, and to support business-to-business cooperation between the two governments.

 

In his speech at the summit that followed, President Yoon emphasized three things about the Czech nuclear power plant. First, he noted that Team Korea has been safely constructing and operating nuclear power plants for more than 50 years, and that it will be the best partner for the construction of the new Czech nuclear power plant to deliver on its On Time, On Budget promise.

 

President Yoon went on to say that the new nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic will be a “Korean-Czech nuclear power plant,” and emphasized that the signing of the MOU with Czech companies involved in the nuclear power plant will allow Team Korea to work together across the entire nuclear ecosystem, including not only construction, but also operation, maintenance, nuclear fuel, and waste, and that the Korean government will spare no effort to ensure that the commitments made today are fulfilled.

 

In conclusion, President Yoon said that the cooperation on nuclear power will make Korea and the Czech Republic the future leaders of the global nuclear renaissance, and invited everyone, including the excellent nuclear power companies in Korea and the Czech Republic, to work together to lead the new future.

 

After the event at Doosan Skoda Power, President Yoon and Prime Minister Fiala visited Skoda JS in the neighboring region to inspect the production site of nuclear equipment.

 

The Seoul government plans to spare no effort to ensure that the MOU on cooperation between the government and the private sector signed during the visit to Doosan Skoda Power goes smoothly and that the final contract for the construction of the Czech NPP is successfully signed, so that the vision of “NPPs built together” can be realized.

 

 

President Yoon attends the Korea-Czech Business Forum

 

President Yoon Seok-yul, who is on an official visit to the Czech Republic, attended the “Korea-Czech Business Forum” at a hotel in Prague on Sept. 20. The forum was jointly organized by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Czech Industries to explore the vision of economic cooperation and promote friendship between the two countries.

 

Delivering a keynote speech, the President encouraged the business leaders who have led the development of bilateral relations, noting that the Korea-Czech Economic Cooperation Council was established in 1989, before Korea and the Czech Republic even established diplomatic relations, and that 35 years later, engineers from both countries are building Hyundai Motor vehicles in Nosovice, Czech Republic, and exporting them to 74 countries.

 

In addition, the President said that in July, Team Korea was selected as the preferred bidder for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic, and that it is time to move beyond Team Korea to become Team Czech-Korea to achieve a “nuclear renaissance” together.

 

The President said that the momentum of cooperation in the nuclear power sector should be extended to the entire industry, and announced that the two governments will sign a Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) to institutionally support comprehensive cooperation across industries, discuss major cooperation projects through the Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue (SCED), and strengthen the foundation for cooperation in advanced industries, including the establishment of the Battery and Future Vehicle Industry Cooperation Center and expansion of hydrogen fuel cell cooperation.

 

Aerospace, Bio, Chemistry, Digital, and Energy were identified as promising areas for cooperation between the two countries' research institutes, and the President said he would actively support joint research and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries as the 'ABCDE' of Korea-Czech Republic science and technology cooperation has been established.

 

The president also emphasized infrastructure cooperation. Korea is the fourth country in the world to independently develop and export high-speed rail vehicles, and Korean high-speed railways have built a reputation for being “fast and safe,” so he hoped that Korean companies could contribute to the construction and operation of high-speed railways in the Czech Republic. He also said that the two countries should work together to provide humanitarian assistance for infrastructure reconstruction in Ukraine.

 

The forum was attended by more than 470 business and government officials from both countries. From South Korea, Chey Tae-won, President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Electronics, and Chang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO Group. 

A total of 14 MOUs between companies and organizations from both countries were signed at the forum. The government said it will actively support the MOUs signed to lead to concrete results.