On October 1, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a “Roundtable Discussion with SMR Demand and Supply Companies” in the main conference room of the Science and Technology Advisory Council in Seoul, presided over by First Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae. The ministry decided to form a public-private joint consultative body by the end of October to accelerate the commercialization of small modular reactors (SMRs).
The roundtable was attended by SMR demand-side companies—POSCO E&C, Lotte Chemical, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean—as well as supply-side companies—Doosan Enerbility, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung C&T, and Daewoo E&C. The Korea Nuclear Industry Association, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Advanced Reactor Industry Technology Research Association also participated.
The government included SMRs in the “Future Clean Energy” sector of the “7 Major SEED Projects”—a set of future growth engines announced on August 12—and set the goals of commercializing light-water SMRs by 2035 and beginning construction of non-light-water SMRs in the 2030s. The “7 Major SEED Projects” are a plan to foster SMRs, nuclear fusion, and renewable energy; quantum technology, aerospace, and advanced biotechnology; and critical minerals, components, and materials—as next-generation growth engines for the next 10 to 20 years. This roundtable discussion served as a forum to identify and address institutional bottlenecks hindering the utilization of SMRs and to discuss measures to accelerate technology development in order to implement these goals.
SMRs can be utilized in a variety of ways, including not only onshore power generation but also as a source of process heat for steelmaking and petrochemical plants, as a propulsion source for ships, and as floating nuclear power plants. The Ministry of Science and ICT shared the current status of multipurpose SMR development and policy directions, and reviewed with participating companies the demand for offshore SMRs, heat demand in industrial complexes, the required timing for supply, and domestic site conditions. The direction of the “Basic Plan for SMR System Development,” scheduled to be established in 2027, was also discussed.
The Ministry also shared the outcomes of its participation in the launch ceremony for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) “ATLAS Initiative”—a global cooperation project on marine nuclear energy—held in the United States last August. The ministry emphasized the importance of early participation in establishing the institutional frameworks necessary for the commercialization of marine nuclear power—including international safety standards, licensing, and classification society and maritime certifications—and listened to the opinions of shipbuilders and other stakeholders.
The ministry also shared the outcomes of the IAEA General Conference held in Austria in September. It explained that the focus of the General Conference is rapidly shifting from “nuclear safety” to “nuclear growth”—including AI, electricity, SMRs, and the nuclear fuel supply chain—and listened to companies’ strategies for securing a leading position in the SMR market. He also announced plans for the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Energy, to be jointly hosted by the IAEA and the Ministry of Science and ICT in Songdo, Incheon, from October 27 to 29, and urged companies to actively participate, noting that it would be an opportunity to showcase Korea’s nuclear technology and supply chain capabilities.
First Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae stated, “We plan to actively incorporate and refine the matters discussed at this meeting into the follow-up measures for the ‘SMR Special Act,’ including the master plan and the Promotion Committee,” adding, “We will promptly establish a public-private consultative body to reduce investment uncertainty for the private sector.”
