Seoul: Whang Joo-ho, president of the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), has offered to step down, industry sources said Wednesday, amid controversy over KHNP's dispute settlement deal with U.S. energy firm Westinghouse signed earlier this year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Whang's resignation offer comes as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is investigating whether the deal between KHNP and Westinghouse was signed under due procedure. There has been criticism that the Korean company may have entered into an unfair agreement with the U.S. firm.
Last month, media reports suggested that under the Westinghouse deal, KHNP has been prohibited from bidding for new nuclear power plant projects in North America and the European Union, excluding the Czech Republic.
The 50-year agreement reportedly includes provisions requiring KHNP to sign a goods and services purchase contract worth approximately US$650 million with Westinghouse for each export of a single nuclear reactor, and to pay $175 million per reactor in technology licensing fees.
The KHNP and Westinghouse signed the settlement in January this year after Westinghouse accused the Korean firm of infringing on its intellectual property, claiming that KHNP's APR 1000 and APR1400 plant designs utilize its licensed technology.
The deal had previously removed a major hurdle for a KHNP-led Korean consortium, allowing it to sign a final contract in June for an estimated 26 trillion-won deal to build two nuclear power units in the Czech Republic.