A deal to end a nuclear technology dispute has been sealed between the Korea Electric Power as well as its nuclear power unit and the U.S.’s Westinghouse Electric.
A two-year-plus nuclear power dispute has come to an end.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corporation said on Friday that they have resolved their intellectual property dispute with the U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Company.
They added this will pave the way for stronger cooperation in the global nuclear energy market, while enhancing their competitiveness.
The dispute began after Westinghouse filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court against KEPCO and KHNP in 2022, for “unauthorized” sharing of nuclear technology that it claimed to have the intellectual rights to.
However, the South Korean companies maintained that there were no legal violations as they successfully reverse-engineered the technology.
Details of the resolution between the two sides were not disclosed on Friday due to a mutual confidentiality agreement. But pundits say they may have agreed on collaborating in other regions such as Europe, where Westinghouse has traditionally operated, among others.
They also expect the end of the dispute to provide a green light for Korea to secure a nuclear power project in the Czech Republic after it was selected as the preferred supplier last year.
Industry Minster Ahn Duk-geun welcomed the agreement, saying he looks forward to deeper cooperation with the U.S. This comes after a recent MOU on nuclear power exports and cooperation in related sectors between the two countries was signed last week.
Expert said that this this will also be a chance to remove potential uncertainties when exporting and operating nuclear reactors in other regions in the future as well.
Source: Arirang News
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