2022 GABI-Mirae Seminar Series: Meeting 6 – Emerging Issues in the U.S.-Korea Energy Partnership

In 2009, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) awarded a $20 billion bid to the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and the award was also financially and geopolitically beneficial to the United States. The ROK and US should continue this momentum of collaboration. In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will likely be looking away from Russia and towards the US and its civil nuclear allies to purchase nuclear energy technology; this will require capacity building. To change the nuclear export market, we need to reimagine how we use nuclear energy. The current status of the partnership between the United States and Korea is one of success, but it is controversial. There needs to be a global effort to compete against ROSATOM, and Korea and the United States complement each other in cooperation. Both countries share similar vision and values. A legal system exists for cooperation, and there is momentum. The ROK and the US can strengthen its alliance through the establishment of strategic nuclear partnership.