South Korea, UK strengthen nuclear energy partnership

A total of nine MOUs were signed between the two countries.

The South Korean and the UK governments signed nine memoranda of understanding (MOU) to boost their cooperation on nuclear energy during President Yoo Suk Yeol’s visit to the UK.

In a statement, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said one MOU was signed to focus on designating a nuclear new build for collaboration between the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

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A total of eight MOUs, meanwhile, were signed by the private sector and relevant institutions for both parties covering the entire nuclear fuel cycle which includes engineering and design, nuclear fuel, management and maintenance, radioactive waste, decommissioning, industrial and academic exchanges.

These private sector MOUs will reduce the time from five years to four, and cost by more than 10% in securing licenses to enter the UK market.

The private Korean firms were composed of KEPCO, KEPCO Nuclear Fuel, and KEPCO Plant Sevice & Engineering, whilst the participating UK-based firms were Wales Nuclear Forum, Mactech Energy Group, Mott MacDonald, AB5 Consulting, and Hayward Tyler.