Seoul:<Text>
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met with Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation and Microsoft Corp. co-founder, in Seoul on Friday to discuss cooperation in the field of energy, Kim's office said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the two sides discussed cooperation between TerraPower, a nuclear power company co-founded by Gates that develops next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs), and South Korean companies.
In 2022, South Korea's SK Group and its affiliate SK Innovation Co. invested 300 billion won (US$214 million) in TerraPower.
SMRs, advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, have been under the spotlight in recent years amid growing global demand for electricity sparked by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and the transition to non-fossil fuel energy to tackle climate change.
The meeting drew attention as an upcoming summit between South Korean President L ee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, slated for next week, is expected to cover nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries.
On Thursday, Gates met with Lee to discuss ways to expand cooperation in the energy sector, global health initiatives and other areas.