Erdogan Puts South Korea Forward as Partner for Planned Sinop Nuclear Plant in Turkey
Key Facts
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said South Korea could become a partner in developing the planned Sinop nuclear plant on the Black Sea coast, Turkey’s second planned nuclear power station. Ankara has not settled on a partner; Erdogan said it is reviewing the project’s technical and economic terms with the state-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation. The assessment includes weighing financing, electricity costs and potential benefits to the Turkish economy before a decision is made. That puts the project at the center of Erdogan’s official visit to South Korea, which began on 1 November and runs through 4 November 2026. He is scheduled to hold official talks with President Lee Jae-myung on 3 November.
Erdogan said the partnership decision would take the project’s financing, electricity costs and returns to the Turkish economy into account, indicating that the talks go beyond choosing an entity to develop the plant. Ankara is reviewing terms with the state-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation, but the announcement that South Korea could join does not mean that a partner or technology has been selected. The nuclear track is part of broader institutional cooperation: Turkey’s TÜNAŞ and KEPCO signed a cooperation memorandum in the presence of Erdogan and President Lee. The memorandum covers exchanging data and technical expertise, working on and developing joint projects, as well as assessing sites and financing and providing training. The memorandum aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise between the two sides, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
The Sinop talks are entering a phase that follows the completion of procedures and studies for the site. Turkish authorities granted site approval for the project on 3 April 2024, while the Energy Ministry’s annual report said negotiations with countries that own the technology were ongoing. Turkey’s energy minister said the environmental impact assessment, seismic studies and marine studies at the Sinop site had been completed. He added that Turkey had held talks with South Korea, the United States and China about the planned plants. These discussions keep options open as Ankara seeks to determine its partners and the technology it will adopt.
The cooperation Erdogan proposed extends to trade and investment, as the bilateral trade imbalance in South Korea’s favor persists. He said the two countries are working toward a bilateral trade target of $15 billion, and called for addressing the imbalance and increasing investment and joint production in Turkey. He cited defense, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robotics as additional areas for cooperation, calling on South Korean companies to make larger investments and engage in joint production in Turkey. That places the Sinop plant within a broader set of economic and industrial issues on the visit’s agenda. The focus on production in Turkey reflects Ankara’s desire to expand the partnership beyond equipment purchases or the exchange of goods.
Turkey plans two additional large nuclear plants in Sinop and Thrace, and aims to reach nuclear capacity of 20 gigawatts by 2053. It also aims for nuclear power to provide about 30% of total electricity generation in the same year, according to the General Directorate of Nuclear Energy. The energy minister said Ankara’s efforts are focused on settling the Sinop and Thrace projects, identifying partners and technology, and then beginning work as quickly as possible. During the remainder of Erdogan’s visit, the official talks scheduled with President Lee on 3 November are the next opportunity to discuss cooperation between the two countries. The choice of a Sinop partner and the selection of technology remain among the decisions the Turkish government says it is seeking to finalize.