Deputy Minister for Energy Policy Lee Ho-hyeon from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) is on an official visit to Türkiye and Saudi Arabia from February 24–27 to strengthen bilateral energy cooperation. The discussions focus on key sectors such as nuclear energy, power grids, hydrogen, and petroleum.
On February 24, Deputy Minister Lee met with Türkiye’s Deputy Ministers of Energy and Natural Resources, Zafer Demircan and Ahmet Berat Çonkar, to exchange views on nuclear power and clean energy initiatives. Türkiye is actively working to secure a stable energy supply and aims to develop 20GW of nuclear power capacity by 2050. Alongside the ongoing Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) project, launched in 2010, the country is seeking contractors for additional nuclear projects in Sinop and Thrace. This marks the first high-level nuclear energy dialogue between South Korea and Türkiye in 13 years, with expectations for further collaboration.
On February 26, Deputy Minister Lee will hold discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Energy for Electricity Affairs, Nasser Al-Qahtani. The meeting will focus on policy trends and potential cooperation in large-scale nuclear projects, power grid expansion, and clean hydrogen development. As Saudi Arabia diversifies its power mix and transitions to a more sustainable energy system, the discussions are anticipated to open avenues for extensive collaboration with South Korea.
