South Korea's Two Ministries Sign MOU to Promote Regulatory Cooperation for Nuclear Power Exports

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on the Successful Overseas Expansion of Korean-Style Nuclear Power Plants" at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul on August 13, planning to strengthen regulatory coordination in the nuclear power export process and provide more systematic nuclear safety regulatory cooperation support to countries hosting potential projects.

Under the agreement, the two sides will jointly support export target countries in establishing nuclear safety regulatory frameworks, improving licensing procedures and technical standards, and enhancing the professional capabilities of regulatory bodies, based on the regulatory cooperation needs raised by these countries. When planning and constructing new nuclear power plants, the relevant countries typically need to simultaneously establish legal systems, approval processes, regulatory technical systems, and workforces for nuclear safety and nuclear security.

Previously, when an export target country raised a regulatory cooperation request, it was typically forwarded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, which then responded along with relevant specialized institutions separately. Under the new cooperation arrangement, the two ministries will continuously share information on overseas nuclear power project progress, regulatory conditions in various countries, and cooperation needs, and will develop more targeted cooperation plans for different countries and project stages, drawing on South Korea's accumulated experience in the full lifecycle management of nuclear power plants.

In addition to the memorandum signed by the two ministries, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP), the Korea Nuclear Energy Export Association, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC) also signed inter-institutional business agreements.

At the council meeting held later that day, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission presented the progress of major nuclear power export projects in Vietnam, the Czech Republic, and the Philippines, and shared cases of nuclear regulatory cooperation between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates and the Czech Republic. Participants also discussed specific directions for designing regulatory cooperation measures tailored to the actual conditions of different countries.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan stated that South Korea will treat the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control as key partners of the "Team Korea" approach, comprehensively responding to various cooperation needs raised by countries newly building nuclear power plants such as Vietnam.

Chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Choi Won-ho stated that the Commission will actively participate in nuclear power export-related work and strengthen regulatory cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and nuclear power export companies to better meet the conditions and requirements of target countries.