KHNP-Westinghouse deal under fire

[Anchor]

Today (Aug. 21), the political arena continued to engage in a heated debate over the agreement between Korean and American companies regarding the nuclear power plant.

The Democratic Party has labeled it a slave contract and stated that a national investigation is necessary.

The People Power Party countered that it is a mutually beneficial agreement for both sides, claiming that the ruling party's assertions are incitements aimed at embarrassing the previous government.

Reporter Lee Yoo-min has the details.

[Report]

"An act of treason selling nuclear sovereignty"

The Democratic Party has defined the agreement between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Westinghouse, which includes a 50-year technology usage fee and mandatory purchase of goods and services, as a 'slave contract.'

They argued that the Yoon Suk Yeol government was clinging to its achievements for promotional purposes just before declaring emergency martial law and forced the agreement in a closed setting, asserting that a thorough investigation at the parliamentary level, including hearings and national investigations, is necessary.

[Kim Jeong-ho/Democratic Party Member: "It is an unequal clause that voluntarily binds even the future potential of the Korean nuclear power industry to dependency on the American Westinghouse."]

The Rebuilding Korea Party and the Progressive Party also criticized it as "a very unreasonable and humiliating negotiation" and "an unfair contract that makes it difficult to find a future."

The People Power Party responded by saying it is "an attempt to embarrass the previous government."

They claimed that it was a win-win negotiation that establishes a foothold for Korean nuclear power in the American market through long-term cooperation, criticizing the government and ruling party's offensive as political incitement.

[Song Eon-seog/Chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Response Committee and Floor Leader: "(The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy appointed by Lee Jae Myung) also stated that it is a contract that was made normally. It is expected to be a contract where the positives far outweigh the negatives."]

They also targeted the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations concluded last month.

If this level of nuclear power agreement is deemed unfavorable, they raised their voices saying that the $350 billion investment and $100 billion purchase with a 15% tariff during the Lee Jae Myung government’s tariff negotiations should be called the Eulsa Treaty.

This is KBS News, Lee Yoo-min.