Korea opens nuclear export conference in Gyeongju as firms chase US supply chain role

South Korea's industry ministry said it will back a three-day international nuclear export conference in Gyeongju this week, where 120 nuclear companies from Korea and abroad will seek roles in the global supply chain opened up by a recent nuclear agreement with the United States.

The NES 2026 conference, the third edition of the event, runs from Oct. 27 to 29 at the HICO convention center in Gyeongju, co-hosted by the Korea Nuclear Export Industry Association and HICO.

The event is built around the US-Korea nuclear framework announced on Oct. 1, which covers the construction of eight large nuclear reactors in the United States. Sessions will focus on opportunities for Korean companies to join that project and the wider supply chain, alongside the role of nuclear power as AI-driven electricity demand grows and the future of small modular reactors.

Organizers said companies from the United States, France, Canada, Vietnam and the Czech Republic are taking part, with about 3,000 industry officials expected to attend.

A B2B export consultation session will bring together 55 overseas buyers and 70 small and mid-sized Korean companies in one-on-one meetings, with schedules arranged in advance after a survey of intentions. Buyers include TerraPower of the United States, France's EDF and Framatome, Canada's AtkinsRéalis and Vietnam's PVN.

In the exhibition hall, 77 companies and institutions from Korea and abroad are running 182 booths. Alongside large companies and state-run firms in equipment and engineering, procurement and construction, participants are grouped into joint pavilions for Team Korea, small modular reactors and companies taking their first steps in exports. The first-step program aims to nurture 100 small and mid-sized firms with export capacity by 2027.

"Demand for nuclear power is expanding with AI and the response to climate change, and the US-Korea nuclear framework has opened global export opportunities, including in the United States," said Kang Gam-chan, the ministry's director general for trade and investment, in a speech at the opening ceremony. "A new era of large-scale nuclear exports, the likes of which we have not experienced before, has begun."

Kang also urged government and industry to work as one Team Korea, calling nuclear exports a "100-year business" that will carry the country's future growth.