Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) procures fuel for South Korea’s 26 operating reactors and will supply the under-construction Saeul-3 and -4 APR1400s once they are commissioned, expected to be by 2030. This makes the subsidiary of state-owned Korea Electric Power Co. (Kepco) one of the biggest buyers in the global nuclear fuel market. It’s also one that remains relatively dependent on Russian supplies: South Korea imports some 30% of its enriched uranium from Russia, according to October comments by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. That’s a figure Seoul is eager to dial back; one South Korean nuclear power industry official told South Korean outlet SBS News in 2024 that KHNP “will reduce its purchases of Russian fuel.”
