Nuclear power in South Korea isn't just about keeping the lights on in Seoul or powering the massive Samsung fabs in Pyeongtaek. Honestly, it’s become the country’s most aggressive export and a bit of a political lightning rod. While much of the Western world spent the last decade debating whether to shutter reactors or build new ones, South Korea basically decided to do everything at once.
They build fast. They export. And now, they're betting the entire farm on becoming the world's go-to "nuclear gas station."
The Great Flip-Flop
You’ve got to understand the whiplash here. For a few years under the Moon Jae-in administration, the official vibe was "phase-out." The plan was to slowly starve the industry over 40 years. But then 2022 happened. Yoon Suk Yeol stepped in, scrapped the phase-out, and declared nuclear energy a "strategic priority."
Then things got weird.
In early 2025, President Yoon was impeached. The political landscape shifted again with the election of Lee Jae-myung in June 2025. You’d think that would be the end of the nuclear surge, right? Not exactly. While Lee is famously skeptical about building brand-new domestic plants—calling nuclear "inherently dangerous" during his campaign—the momentum is simply too big to stop. The current reality is a messy, pragmatic middle ground. The government is pushing to extend the lives of old reactors like Kori-2 while simultaneously trying to sell the technology to anyone with a checkbook.
Why the Czech Deal Changed Everything
If you want to know why South Korea nuclear power is the talk of the energy sector right now, look at Prague.
In May 2025, South Korea’s KHNP (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power) basically pulled off the heist of the century in the energy world. They beat out the French giant EDF for a massive $18 billion contract to build two reactors at the Dukovany site in the Czech Republic. This wasn't just a business win; it was a statement.
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The Czechs didn't pick Korea because of some deep historical bond. They picked them because the Koreans actually finish projects on time. Look at the Barakah plant in the UAE—four reactors built in a desert, largely on schedule. In an industry where projects regularly run 10 years late and billions over budget (looking at you, Hinkley Point C), being "on time" is a superpower.
The deal is worth at least 400 billion crowns, but it could double if the Czechs pull the trigger on two more units at Temelín. It’s the first time South Korea has cracked the European market, and it has sent shockwaves through Brussels.
The AI Hunger Pains
There is a massive elephant in the room: Artificial Intelligence.
South Korea wants to be a top-three AI powerhouse by 2030. You can't run massive LLMs and semiconductor plants on vibes and hopes. You need raw, steady, 24/7 baseload power.
In late 2025, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) approved the continued operation of Kori-2 until 2033. This reactor had been offline since its 40-year permit expired in 2023. Why the sudden rush to bring it back? Because the grid is sweating. Data centers and battery manufacturing are devouring electricity at a rate that solar and wind just can’t keep up with in a mountainous country with limited land.
Even with the political shift under President Lee Jae-myung, the administration is realizing that if they kill nuclear, they kill the tech economy. It’s a classic case of campaign rhetoric hitting the brick wall of industrial reality.
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Small Reactors, Big Hopes
While the giant APR-1400 reactors are the bread and butter, the real "cool kid" on the block is the SMR—Small Modular Reactor.
Doosan Enerbility is currently breaking ground on a dedicated SMR manufacturing plant in Changwon. They aren't just building for Korea; they are positioning themselves as the "foundry" for the world's SMR designs. Think of them like TSMC, but for nuclear components. They’re already in bed with US firms like NuScale and X-energy.
Just this month—January 2026—Hyundai E&C is getting ready to break ground on an SMR project in the United States at the Palisades site in Michigan. This is a big deal. It’s the first time a Korean company is participating in an SMR groundbreaking on US soil.
The goal? A "Net Zero City" powered by these mini-reactors. It sounds like sci-fi, but with the i-SMR design, KHNP is trying to make it a plug-and-play reality for industrial hubs.
The Waste Problem Nobody Likes to Talk About
You can't talk about South Korea nuclear power without mentioning the trash. For decades, the country just sort of... kept the spent fuel in temporary pools at the plant sites. It was a "we'll fix it later" situation.
Well, "later" arrived.
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In March 2025, the National Assembly finally passed the High-Level Radioactive Waste Special Act. It was a rare moment of bipartisan sanity. The law mandates:
- An interim storage facility must be running by 2050.
- A permanent deep geological repository must be ready by 2060.
- Site selection starts now.
This is huge because Kori and Hanbit are projected to hit their storage capacity limits as early as 2031. Without this law, the plants would have been forced to shut down simply because they had nowhere to put the old fuel rods. It’s not a sexy topic, but it’s the literal foundation of the industry's survival.
Is It Actually Safe?
Public opinion in Korea is a total rollercoaster. In 2021, over 70% of people supported nuclear. But then you have the anti-nuclear activists who point to the fact that Korea’s plants are clustered in seismically active areas near major cities like Busan.
The industry counters this by touting their "passive safety" systems. Basically, if everything goes wrong and the power cuts out, the reactor cools itself using gravity and natural circulation instead of needing electric pumps. They claim it can stay safe for 20 days without human intervention.
Whether you believe the marketing or not, the "K-Nuclear" brand is built on this promise of safety-meets-efficiency. They have to be perfect. One major accident in a country as densely populated as South Korea wouldn't just end the domestic industry; it would tank their multi-billion dollar export business overnight.
What This Means for You
If you’re looking at the energy market, South Korea is the bellwether. They are proving that you can actually build nuclear at scale without bankrupting the state—if you have a standardized design and a supply chain that hasn't been mothballed.
The pivot toward SMRs and the desperate need for AI power means the "Nuclear Renaissance" isn't a future thing. It's happening right now.
Next Steps for Staying Informed:
- Watch the Palisades Project: The progress of the Hyundai-Holtec project in Michigan will determine if Korean SMR tech can actually pass Western regulatory hurdles.
- Monitor the 11th Basic Plan: Keep an eye on the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (established late 2025) to see if they scale back the 35% nuclear target for 2038 in favor of more offshore wind.
- Track the Polish and Dutch Tenders: Now that the Czech deal is signed, South Korea is the favorite for upcoming projects in Poland and the Netherlands. If they win those, they effectively replace Russia as the primary non-Western nuclear supplier.