South Korea pushes to dominate global SMR market with sweeping support drive

The government is mounting a full-scale push to develop its next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) industry, mobilizing efforts across demand creation, supply chain development and regulatory reform.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon discussed the direction of next-generation SMR development at the 11th Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting, held Thursday at Government Complex Seoul.

SMRs are compact nuclear reactors smaller than conventional ones, typically manufactured as modules in a factory and assembled on-site after transport. As power demand rises — driven in part by the proliferation of AI data centers — SMRs are drawing growing global interest for requiring less construction investment and smaller sites than large-scale nuclear power plants.

The government aims to build a next-generation SMR ecosystem early and capture the global market in the 2030s. To stimulate demand and support commercialization, it plans to develop business models tailored to each reactor type and establish a public-private joint special purpose company (SPC). It also plans to put in place an intellectual property management system from the development stage to guard against technology disputes, and to provide export-related information.

Supply chain development will focus on strengthening capabilities across multiple areas, including development, manufacturing, demonstration and nuclear fuel.

The government plans to launch public-private SMR projects with private-sector involvement from the outset and support research and development and equipment manufacturing. It will also seek to secure demonstration data for licensing purposes by leveraging digital twin technology — which links the physical and virtual worlds — and sites such as the Munmu the Great Science Research Institute in Gyeongju. On nuclear fuel, the government will build partnerships with the United States, the United Kingdom and others to address uncertainties in enriched uranium supply, and will discuss options including sourcing fuel recycled from spent nuclear fuel.

The government is also moving quickly to establish the regulatory framework needed to foster next-generation SMRs. Building on the SMR Special Act taking effect in September, it plans to form and operate an "SMR System Development Promotion Committee" around November. A basic plan for SMR development will then be drawn up next year, and laws and regulations that impede commercialization will be identified and revised.

Separately from the SMR System Development Promotion Committee, the government is preparing a task force that would bring together the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the nuclear regulatory body. Cheong Wa Dae is leading discussions on launching the task force. The move appears intended to create a forum where development and regulatory bodies can coordinate to accelerate the timeline for SMR commercialization.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission recently signaled at a press briefing its intention to establish an SMR regulatory framework in a timely manner in response to market expansion.

Taking into account the intensifying race toward SMR commercialization and growing public interest, the commission plans to put in place a legal framework by 2030 that allows licensing for a range of SMR types. Beyond that, the government is also reviewing amendments to relevant laws to enable SMRs to be used for heat supply and as maritime power sources.

"We will create SMR special zones and strengthen cooperation networks to bring together the capabilities of industry, academia and research institutions," a Ministry of Science and ICT official said. "We will elevate next-generation SMR development to a national vision and spare no effort to achieve early commercialization."