South Korea's state-run nuclear power firm barred from North America, Europe over intellectual property dispute: Report

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korea’s state-run nuclear power firm has been banned from bidding for new power plant projects in North America and Europe over an intellectual property (IP) dispute, the Seoul-based Yonhap News reported on Tuesday.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) faces the IP dispute under its agreement with the US energy firm Westinghouse, signed in January, according to industry sources.

The sources mentioned that the KHNP cannot sign for new nuclear power plant deals in North America and the UK, Japan, Ukraine, and EU nations, excluding the Czech Republic.

The agreement was signed after Westinghouse accused the KHNP of infringing on its IP, claiming that the plant designs of the South Korean company utilize its licensed technology.

The deal had cleared a major obstacle for the KHNP-led Korean consortium to finalize a 26 trillion won ($18.7 billion) contract in June to build two nuclear power units in the Czech Republic.

The report came as the KHNP President Whang Joo-ho confirmed on Tuesday that the company had closed operations in Poland.

"After the new Polish administration took office ... the country decided to drop the state-owned enterprise projects (in the nuclear power sector)," Whang said.

Poland became the fourth European country where the KHNP confirmed its business closure, following Sweden, Slovenia, and the Netherlands.