South Korean power industry to enter US market with memorandum of understanding on investment in the US - South Korean media

The US and South Korean governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 14th that includes details on direct investment of $200 billion (approximately 31.1 trillion yen) in the US, and the power industry has begun to enter the US market.
The strategy is to use the high tariff pressure from the US as an opportunity to enter the local market. According to the Korea Electric Power Corporation, from the 10th to the 14th, ITC Holdings, AES Corporation,
Representatives from 13 companies and organizations involved in the operation and construction of the U.S. power grid, including the U.S. National Power Research Institute (EPRI), were invited to Korea to participate in a technical education workshop on the 765-kilovolt power grid.
The purpose of this workshop is to explore the possibility of expanding the 765 kilovolt ultra-high voltage power grid into the North American market.
The construction of the power grid is currently underway, but the country is facing difficulties due to a lack of experience. Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) introduced the Shinanseong substation and Gochang power test center, which are currently in operation, at the workshop.
The delegation also visited production lines of power equipment companies such as HD Hyundai Electric, LS Cable, Bosun Powertech, and Jaeryong Industrial.
For the power industry, the signing of the US-Korea Strategic Investment MOU is a major opportunity to enter the US market. Under the agreement between the US and Korea, Korea will directly invest a total of $200 billion in the US.
This is because it is highly likely that a significant portion of this investment will be concentrated in the power infrastructure investment in the United States. Ultimately, it is President Trump who decides where to invest, but the United States is
The Korean power industry has also been pushing for early expansion into the US power market.
Therefore, some believe that if the Korean government's investment increases the possibility of entering the US market, it could be a win-win situation. Since this investment project in the US is being made by the Korean government, priority is being given to Korean companies.
"The 765 kilovolt Team Korea is a strategic model with global competitiveness," said Lee Chang-yeol, director of the Technology Planning Department at Korea Electric Power Corporation, adding, "We will drive Korea's power technology forward."
"We hope that this will be used to apply the technology to the US power grid and become a starting point for Korean companies to jointly enter the global market," he said. In fact, Japan, which signed an MOU with the US before Korea, also promised this.
Of the $50 billion (approximately 85.5 trillion yen) investment, more than half, $332 billion (approximately 51.6 trillion yen), will be spent on the construction of large nuclear power plants and small modular reactors (SMRs) and other projects.
The company will invest $100 billion (approximately 15.5 trillion yen) in the construction of a nuclear power plant by the American nuclear power company Westinghouse, with the participation of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba, and others.
The US energy company GE Bernova and Hitachi GVH, a US-Japan joint venture SMR company, will each invest $100 billion in SMR construction.
The Korean nuclear power industry has also begun preliminary work to promote the US-Korea joint nuclear power project, called "MANUGA."
With the support of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Industry, the Korea Nuclear Suppliers Association held the US-Korea Nuclear Suppliers Forum in Washington, D.C. on the 13th (local time), where Korean nuclear power companies, US nuclear power plant operators and SMR developers
He met with the Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea Electric Power Engineering, and Doosan Energy, members of "Team Korea" that led the way in securing nuclear power plant orders in the Czech Republic, as well as small and medium-sized facilities.
However, the establishment of a joint venture between Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Westinghouse has been progressing slowly, and it is somewhat likely that Japan will lose its position as a partner in the US nuclear power industry.
The two sides have been discussing the establishment of a joint venture since agreeing to end the intellectual property rights dispute in January this year, but the talks have come to a halt amid differences in opinion regarding profit sharing.
Progress is very slow.