Following the South Korean government's decision to restrict state-owned power-generating companies from importing Russian thermal coal from the spot market towards the end of 2023, Russian exports lost ground to Colombian thermal coal supply in recent months.

South Korea has 25 nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 24.7 GWe at the end of 2023. According to the state-run utility Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, in 2022, these plants generated nearly 30% of all electricity, up from 23% in 2018.

Atomic power would need to account for 40% to 45% of electricity supply, from about 30% now, for Korea to zero out its emissions by mid-century,

South Korea’s industry ministry said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dutch Economic Affairs ministry to support the new plant order. KHNP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Netherlands’ Economic Affairs & Climate Policy Ministry on the feasibility study.

Among the areas for cooperation, the partnership will see the UK and Korea commit to strengthening cooperation on civil nuclear, including on large-scale, small-scale and advanced reactors, decommissioning and waste management, and supply chains.

South Korea has been expanding its nuclear energy ambitions since President Yoon Suk-yeol assumed power in May 2022 and reversed former President Moon Jae-in's policy of phasing out nuclear power.

The SMR Alliance includes 11 government and public institutions, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Korea Energy Economics Institute, as well as 31 companies, including GS Energy, SK Inc, Samsung C&T, Daewoo E&C and Doosan Enerability.

The statement was signed in Seoul on 10 April by British Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps and South Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang.

Last month, South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries announced it had completed the conceptual design for the CMSR Power Barge - a floating nuclear power plant based on compact MSRs It also obtained the basic certification of the design from the American Bureau of Shipping.

KEPCO CEO Seung-il Jeong presented the proposal to Fatih Dönmez, Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, on 30 January during a meeting in which they discussed plans for KEPCO to participate in the nuclear power plant project.