2023 Nuclear Power Industry Sales Reach 32.1 Trillion Won... "All-Time High"

The 2025 New Year's Meeting of the Nuclear Power Sector was held on the 10th at The Westin Chosun Seoul, attended by over 300 experts from industry, academia, and research, including Yusang-im, Minister of Science and ICT, Choi Nam-ho, 2nd Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Choi Won-ho, Chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, National Assembly members Lee Cheol-gyu, Choi Hyung-doo, Heo Seong-mu, and Hwang Ju-ho, President of the Korea Nuclear Industry Association.

Participants at the New Year's meeting evaluated that "2024 saw significant achievements in our nuclear power industry, such as the groundbreaking of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 and the selection of the preferred bidder for the Czech Republic's new nuclear power plant construction project," while expressing hopes that "in 2025, plans for the commercialization of the Korean Small Modular Reactor (SMR) will become more concrete and that news of new nuclear power export contracts will be heard."

According to the Korea Nuclear Industry Association, the scale of the domestic nuclear power industry and investment by nuclear power companies in 2023 reached an all-time high since the first nuclear industry survey was conducted in 1996, thanks to contracts for main equipment for Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 and winning the Egypt El Dabaa construction project. It is expected that further growth occurred in 2024 due to the full-scale construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 and winning the Romanian Cernavod? nuclear power plant tritium removal facility construction project.

Nuclear power industry sales were tentatively estimated to have surged from 21.6 trillion KRW in 2021 and 25.4 trillion KRW in 2022 to 32.1 trillion KRW in 2023. Investment by nuclear power companies (excluding Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power) also expanded from 143.8 billion KRW in 2021 and 248.5 billion KRW in 2022 to an estimated 448 billion KRW in 2023. The nuclear industry survey, conducted under the Nuclear Promotion Act, investigates sales and investments in the nuclear power sector, with the 2023 survey results scheduled for official announcement in early 2025.

Choi Nam-ho, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "The government will continue to support the nuclear power industry in 2025 through work orders and financing, and will also accelerate investments to secure future markets, such as establishing regional SMR manufacturing infrastructure and creating a nuclear power fund worth 100 billion KRW." He added, "Efforts to strengthen nuclear safety must continue, and by expanding communication with the public, the combined capabilities of the public and private sectors should be focused to ensure that nuclear power is firmly trusted by the people."