KHNP appeals to Supreme Court over provisional injunction on Czech nuclear power plant contract

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the South Korean nuclear power plant operator, has appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court against the local district court's decision to temporarily prohibit the signing of a contract for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic.
According to a South Korean nuclear industry source, KHNP filed an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic on the 20th (local time).
The appeal is against a provisional injunction issued by the Brno District Court on the 6th (local time), the day before the contract signing ceremony. The court ruled in favor of the French company EDF, which lost the bid.
The provisional injunction prohibited the signing of a contract between KHNP and Czech nuclear company EDU2 until the ruling on the merits of the government lawsuit was made.
The signing ceremony for the contract with the Czech government was canceled at the last minute. The Czech government's new nuclear power plant orderer, Dukovany 2 Nuclear Power Company (EDU2), then appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court on the 19th.
Following this, Han Hung Nuclear Power, a party to the contract, has also taken legal action on its own. A Han Hung Nuclear Power source said, "In the Czech judicial system, Han Hung Nuclear Power, which is a party with an interest in the provisional disposition case, is also subject to the same legal measures as EDU2.
"We can file an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court to revoke the lower court's provisional injunction," he explained.
If the project continues for a long time, the losses could amount to hundreds of billions of won, so the Supreme Administrative Court should expedite the case and reach a conclusion as soon as possible.
If the Supreme Administrative Court accepts EDU2's claims, the Czech power authority and KHNP will be able to take the time to fight the legal battle rather than waiting for the decision of the district court that granted the provisional injunction.
The Czech government has agreed to pre-agree with the Czech Republic Electricity Corporation (CEZ) and Korea Hydro to conclude the contract for two new nuclear power plants in order to be able to conclude the contract as soon as possible once the district court's provisional injunction decision is overturned.
"If the district court's provisional disposition is overturned, we will be able to immediately conclude the contract, which will prevent damage from contract delays," said a KHNP official.
"I'm so happy," he said.