Fiala spoke with South Korean president mainly about completion of Czech Dukovany plant

Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) spoke by phone today with new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung about economic cooperation, particularly in connection with the construction of new units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. The prime minister reported this on X social network. Last week, Elektrárna Dukovany II, the company in charge of the nuclear tender, signed final contracts with South Korea’s KHNP to build two nuclear units at Dukovany, following a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court.

Lee Jae-myung became president last week, winning an early presidential election by a clear margin as the opposition candidate. He received 49.42 percent of the vote, while government candidate Kim Moon-soo received 41.15 percent. Fiala said he congratulated him on his victory and on successfully overcoming the political crisis.

"We spoke mainly about economic cooperation, particularly in connection with completing the Dukovany nuclear power plant. We agreed that nuclear cooperation has become a pillar of our mutual relations and that the project will benefit both Czech and Korean industry," the prime minister said.

The South Korean president expressed strong interest in cooperation with the Czech Republic, Fiala added at a press conference after a government meeting. "This is also the result of the long-standing special relations we have with the Republic of Korea. This year we are marking not only the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, but also the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership, which is reflected significantly in our increasingly close economic cooperation," the prime minister added.

Other topics, according to Fiala, included deepening mutual economic relations and the security situation in Europe and on the Korean Peninsula. In his recent inaugural address, Lee Jae-myung said he wanted to pursue peace through dialogue with North Korea. He also intends to strengthen the partnerships with the United States and Japan.

KHNP won the nuclear tender last year, with the government preferring its bid over those of EDF and Westinghouse. The first unit at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036. The construction of new nuclear units in Czechia is expected to be the country’s largest-ever contract. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred construction of two reactors at Dukovany is 407 billion korunas.