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A view of the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic. / Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power

The final contract signing for a nuclear power plant deal between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Czech Republic, scheduled for May 7, has been thrown into uncertainty following a legal challenge from France’s EDF. However, experts say the impact may be limited.

According to Reuters and other sources on May 6, a court in Brno, Czech Republic, granted an injunction requested by France’s state-run utility EDF to halt the signing of a contract between KHNP and Czech firm EDU II for the construction of Units 5 and 6 at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. The court ordered the suspension until EDF's appeal process is concluded.

As a result, the contract signing ceremony is expected to be postponed, and a new signing date will likely depend on the outcome of the legal dispute. The Czech court stated that if the contract were to be signed now, EDF, as a bidder, could "irreversibly lose the opportunity to win the public contract even if a favorable ruling were later issued."

This is not EDF’s first attempt to obstruct the project. In October 2023, three months after KHNP was selected as the preferred bidder, EDF filed a complaint with the Czech antitrust office (UOHS), in coordination with U.S. firm Westinghouse. However, on April 24, the antitrust authority rejected the complaint, removing the final regulatory hurdle. The Czech government then announced that the contract signing would take place on May 7. Earlier this year, Westinghouse also settled an intellectual property dispute with KHNP.

EDF's latest injunction comes just one day before the anticipated signing ceremony, despite the presence of a South Korean delegation, including Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, already in the Czech Republic to attend the event.

Nevertheless, experts believe EDF’s latest administrative lawsuit is unlikely to succeed. Jung Bum-jin, a nuclear engineering professor at Kyung Hee University, said, "EDF is likely to lose the case. Reports suggest France's national audit office recommended that EDF halt nuclear exports, which may explain why EDF is desperately pursuing this legal route."

KHNP stated, "The contract remains uncertain at this point, and we are in discussions with the Czech client."