South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Dukgeun told reporters in Prague that the court’s decision would only delay the signing of the official contract, and that all other procedures would proceed on schedule, assuming that the deal goes through. He said that the Czech government clearly didn't anticipate the court’s decision to pause the agreement, and that CEZ plans to appeal.
It is not clear when the Czech Supreme Administrative Court could rule on that appeal.
“The Czech government did not think of (EDF’s claims) as a major problem and invited us for the scheduled” signing ceremony, Ahn said. “It seems that the Czech government’s judgement did not align with the court’s ruling.”
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Wednesday his government respects the court’s decision, before adding: “I believe that the judges and the court realize how important this decision is and its impact on security of the Czech Republic and our national interests.”
Lee Ju-Ho, South Korea's acting president, said that Seoul would communicate closely with the Czech side to ensure that the deal is finalized quickly.
In July, CEZ selected KHNP over EDF as the preferred bidder to build two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors at the Dukovany plant. EDF filed a court complaint last week after the Czech Republic’s competition regulator rejected its appeal over the bidding process.
Before he was ousted last month over an ill-fated martial law imposition in December, former conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had pledged to boost the country’s nuclear power exports, arguing that they had suffered under the previous liberal government’s push to reduce domestic reliance on nuclear energy. Yoon’s government had set a goal of exporting 10 nuclear power reactors by 2030.