Yoon Suk Yeol promises 3.3 trillion won in nuclear equipment orders this year

Industry

Published: 22 Feb. 2024, 16:39

Yoon Suk Yeol promises 3.3 trillion won in nuclear equipment orders this year

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a town hall meeting held in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Thursday with a focus on the local nuclear industry. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol promised nuclear equipment orders worth 3.3 trillion won ($2.48 billion) will be placed this year, along with financial support of 1 trillion won to be funneled into the local industry.

The latest pledge comes as the Yoon administration continues to advocate for nuclear expansion and plant exports, taking shots at former President Moon Jae-in’s nuclear phase-out initiative.

“The government will provide its full support to make this year the year that the nuclear industry takes off once again, going beyond merely normalizing the industry,” said the president during a town hall meeting in Changwon, South Gyeongsang on Thursday. About 100 attendees, including Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, South Gyeongsang Gov. Park Wan-soo, and undergraduate and graduate students majoring in nuclear technology were present at the event.

Changwon is a key industrial hub for Korea’s nuclear sector and is also home to Doosan Enerbility, the country’s major nuclear reactor developer.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, waves his hand to residents and local vendors at the Masan Fish Market in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Yoon attended another town hall meeting a day prior in Ulsan, during which he pledged to drastically ease regulations on so-called “greenbelt” zones restricted for environmental preservation.

“First, orders worth 3.3 trillion won will be placed, along with special financial support of 1 trillion won,” said the president, adding that such orders “will not be awarded in the form of mere contracts, as there will be upfront payments to relieve the burden on companies.”

Over the past two years, orders worth 5.4 trillion won have been placed, including those for the resumed construction of Shin-Hanul reactor units 3 and 4, which had been halted during the previous administration's nuclear wind-down.

The government will also proceed to revise rules concerning the Restriction of Special Taxation Act to make investments in nuclear facility investments and research and development (R&D) eligible for tax credits, according to Yoon. Over 4 trillion won will be poured into nuclear R&D over the course of five years under his administration, with small module reactor (SMR) technology also one of the main focuses.

The government plans to establish a mid-to-long-term plan for nuclear plant projects spanning until 2050 within this year, the president added.

Yoon stressed that nuclear energy plays a vital role in the sustainable growth of the Korean economy, as industrial power demand is forecast to jump steeply in line with increased investments in high-tech manufacturing.

Yoon mentioned in his remarks that he was “hugely shocked during [his] first visit to Changwon right after his inauguration,” as the former administration’s “reckless nuclear phase-out policy had left the local industry in a state of ruins," and added that to revive the decrepit industrial complex of Changwon, the government will double the size of the fund to refurbish state industrial complexes to 200 billion won.

The Yoon administration aims to export 10 nuclear power plants by 2030, with nuclear equipment export deals worth 4.01 trillion won in total from 2022 to 2023 from Egypt and Romania clinched so far.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]