PRAGUE — A Czech court has temporarily stopped the government from signing a major nuclear power deal with South Korea, according to reports from Czech media on Tuesday, reported by APP.
The agreement, worth about $18.6 billion, was set to be finalized this week.
The deal involves South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), which had been chosen to build two nuclear reactors at the Dukovany power plant, about 200 kilometers from Prague. The contract was going to be signed with Czech energy company Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU II), a part of the state-owned CEZ group.
However, a court in the city of Brno issued an injunction, or temporary order, to block the signing. This decision came after French company EDF, which had lost the bid, filed a legal complaint. EDF claims the Czech government’s selection process was unfair.
Last year, both EDF and U.S.-based Westinghouse filed complaints with the Czech competition authority. Although their complaints were dismissed in October, EDF later took the issue to court, which led to this week’s ruling.
KHNP had been selected in July 2024 to build the new 1,000-megawatt reactors. If the project moves forward, it would be South Korea’s first overseas nuclear construction deal since 2009, when KHNP built the Barakah plant in the United Arab Emirates.
KHNP has said it is now talking with the Czech side to understand the impact of the court’s decision and what steps will follow. For now, the signing is delayed until the legal case is reviewed.
