EU drops subsidy probe into Czech nuclear project won by Team Korea

The Czech Dukovany nuclear power plant construction project, won by "Team Korea" led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, is set to move forward after the EU decided not to open a formal investigation into whether the deal violated its foreign subsidies regulation.

According to the nuclear industry, KHNP received official notification Friday from the European Commission that it would not launch an in-depth investigation under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation into the Dukovany project.

The decision follows a preliminary review the Commission had been conducting on its own initiative since February last year, after France's Électricité de France, which lost the bid to KHNP, alleged that the project breached EU foreign subsidies rules. EDF argued that the South Korean government was effectively subsidizing KHNP, distorting competition. KHNP rebuffed the claim, saying it receives no government subsidies and that the Dukovany tender had been launched before the regulation took effect, placing it outside the regulation's scope.

The EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation is designed to assess whether financial contributions provided by non-EU governments to companies distort competition within the EU's single market. The Commission had been conducting a preliminary review of the Dukovany project on its own initiative since February 2025.

KHNP and Team Korea cooperated fully with the review, submitting requested documents and providing explanations as needed. As a result, the Commission concluded its preliminary review and notified KHNP that it had decided not to open an in-depth investigation.

The construction of Dukovany units 5 and 6 was the second overseas nuclear power plant project KHNP has won, coming 16 years after the 2009 Barakah nuclear plant contract in the United Arab Emirates. The deal also marked Team Korea's first entry into the European market.

KHNP said it plans to "focus all efforts on carrying out the Czech Dukovany nuclear power plant project without disruption, working in close cooperation with the Czech client."