Eight Nuclear Plants in the United States of America to Be Built in a '2→4→2' Sequence... Korea to Recover Its Investment First Even if the Project Falls Through

[Financial News] A plan is under consideration to build eight U.S. nuclear plants, pursued as a follow-up project to Korea's investment in the United States, in stages in the order of two, four and two units. Rather than constructing all eight at once, the project would begin with two units and expand sequentially. A safeguard has also been established to ensure that Korea recovers 100% of its investment first if the project is halted and liquidated midway.
According to a ruling-party official on the 22nd, Korea and the United States are discussing a plan to build eight new U.S. nuclear plants in the order of two, four and two units. Since nuclear plants are typically built by grouping multiple reactors, the proposal calls for constructing two units first, followed by four and then another two.
A ruling-party official explained, "Rather than constructing all eight units simultaneously, the plan is to build two first, followed by four and then another two."
The two Korean APR-1400 reactors are also being considered for inclusion among the eight units. The remaining six would reportedly use Westinghouse's AP1000 design. However, whether the APR-1400 will be used and when it will be deployed have not yet been finalized. The government plans to assess the commercial viability of each project after specifying candidate sites, electricity demand and construction costs.
A ruling-party official said, "We understand that the U.S. side has plans for additional nuclear plant construction and candidate sites," adding, "Specific construction costs can be calculated only once specific sites have been selected."
A safeguard has also been put in place to prevent losses resulting from the massive investment. If the project is halted and liquidated after work has begun, Korea will recover the investment it provided before the other party.
He said, "Because Korea made the investment, it now has 100% priority in the event that the project is liquidated," adding, "If the project is halted midway, we can recover 100% of the money invested up to that point before anyone else."
Profit sharing is also linked to the recovery of the investment. For each project, Korea and the United States will split profits equally until Korea's principal and interest are recovered. After the principal and interest have been fully recovered, the U.S. share will increase. Rather than calculating the profits and losses of multiple projects together, the arrangement determines whether the investment has been recovered on a project-by-project basis.
For example, even if investment recovery has been completed for some projects, a project whose principal and interest have not been recovered will continue under the 50-50 profit-sharing structure.
Korea's right to access information has also been strengthened. Even if a local operator designated by the U.S. side carries out the project, Korea will be able to review the project's progress and related materials. A ruling-party official explained, "We cannot assess the project's viability if we invested but cannot review the documents," adding, "We secured the authority to access information during the course of the project."
Whether to make the actual investment in the eight-reactor nuclear project is expected to be decided based on a commercial viability review that considers the sites, electricity demand and project costs. In particular, if the project proceeds under the '2→4→2' approach, the viability of the initial reactors and whether the investment is recovered are expected to affect the construction of subsequent reactors.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter