MOTIE and NSSC Establish Nuclear Export and Regulatory Cooperation System: “Unified Team for Korean Nuclear Power Exports”

Linking Nuclear Exports and Regulatory Cooperation
Continuous Sharing of Nuclear Project Progress and National Regulatory Conditions

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) have agreed to collaborate as a unified team to support nuclear power plant exports. This marks the first time a systematic and sustainable joint response system has been established, linking nuclear power exports and regulatory cooperation.

On August 13, MOTIE announced that it had signed a “business agreement for the successful overseas expansion of Korean nuclear power plants” with the NSSC at the headquarters of Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Seoul.

Aerial view of Units 1 to 4 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE.

A MOTIE official explained the purpose of this cooperation, stating, “Amid the continued instability in global affairs—such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—as well as the emergence of climate change response as an urgent priority for the international community, nuclear power plants that contribute to stable energy supply and carbon neutrality are once again attracting attention. Consequently, not only in the United States and Europe, but also in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, movements to introduce new nuclear power plants are accelerating.”

Countries planning to adopt nuclear power for the first time must simultaneously establish a regulatory framework, including relevant legislation, permitting procedures, technical standards, the professional capacity of regulatory institutions, and nuclear safety and security personnel, alongside plant construction. Therefore, comprehensive cooperation that leverages not only technical expertise and project implementation capabilities but also Korea’s accumulated regulatory experience and expertise throughout the entire nuclear power lifecycle is crucial for entering emerging nuclear markets.

Previously, when export destination countries requested regulatory cooperation, MOTIE would relay these needs to the NSSC, which would then respond individually along with expert agencies. However, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also recommended that “the country commissioning new nuclear plants should prepare its regulatory framework and secure permitting capacity even before selecting a technology supplier,” there is now a greater need to systematically and sustainably connect nuclear exports and regulatory cooperation.

To address this, MOTIE and the NSSC have signed this business agreement in order to jointly respond to the need for regulatory cooperation from nuclear export destination countries, and to support those countries in systematically building safety regulation systems and strengthening regulatory capacity.

Going forward, the two ministries will continuously share information on the progress of overseas nuclear projects, national regulatory environments, and cooperation needs. They plan to pursue tailored cooperation based on regulatory experience accumulated across the full lifecycle of design, construction, and operation of nuclear power plants in Korea, customized to the conditions and project phases of each export destination country.

On the same day, in addition to the agreement between the two ministries, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the Association for Nuclear Power Export, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control also signed separate business agreements. MOTIE expects that nuclear power projects abroad and regulatory cooperation will be linked from the early stages of projects, enabling a systematic response to the regulatory cooperation needs of export destination countries.

Minister Kim Junggwan of MOTIE stated, “This agreement is significant in that it systematically links nuclear power exports with regulatory cooperation and establishes an official foundation for consolidating the expertise of both ministries and related organizations. Going forward, we will designate the NSSC, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control as core partners of Team Korea and comprehensively address the diverse cooperation needs of newly adopting countries such as Vietnam.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.