SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean officials on Wednesday diminished the significance of a Czech court’s ruling to suspend an $18 billion project for South Korea to construct two nuclear reactors in the country, characterising it as a temporary impediment and voicing assurance that the agreement will ultimately advance.

A group from South Korea, led by the government-owned Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, expected to finish the deal this week with a part of CEZ, the biggest electricity company in the Czech Republic. But a court in the Czech Republic stopped CEZ from signing the contract while it looks at a complaint from the French company EDF, which did not win the bid against the South Koreans.

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Dukgeun informed reporters in Prague that the court's ruling would merely postpone the formal contract signing, with all other processes expected to continue as planned, provided the agreement is ultimately finalised. He indicated that the Czech government had clearly not foreseen the court's decision to halt the agreement, and that CEZ intends to appeal the ruling.

The timeframe within which the Czech Supreme Administrative Court will issue a ruling on that appeal remains uncertain.

Ahn noted, “The Czech government did not perceive [EDF’s claims] as a significant impediment and proceeded with the planned signing ceremony, indicating a divergence between their assessment and the court’s determination.”

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated on Wednesday that his government respects the court’s decision, subsequently remarking: “I trust that the judges and the court grasp the significance of this decision and its implications for the security of the Czech Republic and our national interests.”

Lee Ju-Ho, South Korea's interim president, stated that Seoul would engage in close dialogue with their Czech counterparts to facilitate a swift conclusion of the agreement.

In July, CEZ chose KHNP over EDF as the favored bidder to construct two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors at the Dukovany plant. EDF lodged a legal complaint last week after the Czech Republic's competition authority dismissed its challenge regarding the bidding procedure.

Prior to his removal last month, precipitated by a controversial imposition of martial law in December, the former conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had committed to expanding the nation's nuclear power exports. He contended that these exports had diminished under the preceding liberal administration's efforts to decrease domestic dependence on nuclear energy. Yoon's government had articulated an ambition to export ten nuclear power reactors by the year 2030.