On 27 December 2009, a South Korean consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) signed an $18.6 billion contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the sale of several APR 1400-type Korean nuclear reactors. The news was very surprising: few people had expected South Korea to triumph over its competitors, who included the United States, France, and Japan. After the announcement of this contract, the approval rating of President Lee Myung Bak, who flew to the UAE on 26 December to support the KEPCO consortium in their bid, immediately rose from around 30 percent to almost 50 percent. South Korea then signed a subsequent pact with the UAE to operate the reactors, doubling the value of the original contract to $40 billion. Current plans are to build the first nuclear reactor for the UAE by 2017. As a result. South Korea has suddenly transformed itself from a country that imports nuclear technology into one that exports nuclear technology.
