Baek Kyung-hoon (배경훈), deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, attended the "2026 nuclear industry New Year reception" held at the Westin Josun Seoul on Friday morning and exchanged New Year greetings with key figures in the nuclear sector.

The reception was held under the theme "Nuclear power opening the AI era." It was attended by about 300 people from the nuclear sector across industry, academia and research, including Baek, Lee Ho-hyun (이호현), second vice minister of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and Choi Won-ho (최원호), chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

In his New Year remarks, Baek said the world is paying attention to a strategic energy mix that includes nuclear power as it faces the challenges of a climate crisis and a sharp rise in electricity demand from AI. He said global big tech companies are investing in small modular reactor, or SMR, technology to supply power for AI and data centres.

He also stressed that the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to strengthen investment to develop next-generation SMRs so South Korea can emerge as a global SMR powerhouse. He said it would also create an innovation ecosystem in which the private and public sectors work together as one team to respond swiftly to rapidly changing global markets.