South Korea government denies US proposal for Westinghouse stake

South Korea’s government moved quickly to shut down a report claiming Washington had proposed that Seoul acquire a stake in Westinghouse Electric Co., the American nuclear giant at the center of US plans to dramatically expand domestic atomic energy capacity. Officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy flatly rejected the claims, calling the joint investment proposal “not true.” The denial came on August 24, after the Korea Economic Daily published a story citing unnamed officials who said such a deal was under discussion. What the report claimed The Korea Economic Daily’s article painted a picture of a potentially transformative nuclear partnership. According to the publication, the US had floated the idea of South Korean investment in Westinghouse as a way to tap Seoul’s capital reserves and its considerable construction expertise for America’s nuclear buildout. The report suggested that a Korean stake in Westinghouse could accomplish two things simultaneously. First, it would help resolve longstanding intellectual property disputes between Westinghouse and Korean nuclear firms. Second, it would open the door for South Korean companies to participate in the US large...