Agreement Reached to Launch Improvement Negotiations Focusing on Supply Chains and the Green Economy
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Singapore EMA Sign SMR Cooperation MOU
Establishing a Foothold in the ASEAN Nuclear Power Market
On the occasion of President Lee Jaemyung's state visit to Singapore, South Korea and Singapore are set to further expand their cooperation in trade and energy.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 2, 2026, that it had agreed with Singapore, a global hub for technology, energy, and logistics, to upgrade their free trade agreement (FTA) and strengthen collaboration in the field of small modular reactors (SMRs). The FTA between South Korea and Singapore, South Korea's first FTA partner among ASEAN countries, went into effect on March 2, 2006, marking its 20th anniversary this year.
On this day, Minister Kim Junggwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy exchanged a "Joint Declaration on the Launch of Korea-Singapore FTA Improvement Negotiations" with Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, coinciding with the Korea-Singapore summit. The government plans to modernize the FTA rules through these improvement negotiations, focusing on new trade areas such as supply chains and the green economy. After preparing standard clauses for each sector, a "modular trade agreement" approach will be applied, allowing for selection and combination of applicable areas and detailed provisions according to the characteristics and needs of the partner country.
In the supply chain sector, cooperation measures will be specified with a focus on bio and pharmaceuticals, establishing a model for supply chain collaboration between the two countries. In the green economy sector, the plan is to advance decarbonization cooperation, thereby strengthening the foundation for Korean companies to enter ASEAN markets. In trade facilitation, the government intends to lower trade costs by improving customs procedures and to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic aircraft maintenance industry by expanding cooperation in aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).
Cooperation in the nuclear power sector will also be accelerated. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore signed an "SMR Cooperation MOU" in the presence of the two leaders. This marks the first MOU on nuclear power cooperation that a Korean nuclear company has signed with a Singaporean government agency.
The Singaporean government previously allocated a budget of approximately 5 trillion won from its future energy policy fund for SMR-related projects, in response to increased electricity demand from the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the implementation of carbon neutrality. Given Singapore's limited land area and high population density, small modular reactors, which have fewer site restrictions, are considered a practical alternative.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is currently developing the Korean Innovative Small Modular Reactor (i-SMR), targeting commercialization in the mid-2030s. Based on this MOU, joint activities with Singapore’s EMA will include feasibility studies for SMR adoption, workforce training, sharing technical information and nuclear best practices, and active participation in the EMA's ongoing SMR type survey. The goal is to promote Korea’s next-generation nuclear technology and explore future business participation opportunities.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated that it would support follow-up consultations to ensure that the outcomes of this MOU lead to actual projects and would strategically manage overall trade and energy cooperation going forward.
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