South Korean officials said on Wednesday that a court in the Czech Republic had temporarily stopped a big project worth $18 billion. However, they said this was only a small problem and they were confident the project would still happen later.

A South Korean group, including a state-owned energy company, thought they would finish the agreement this week with a part of CEZ, the biggest electricity company in the Czech Republic. But, a Czech court stopped CEZ from signing the contract while it looks at a complaint from a French company that did not win the contract.

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Dukgeun told reporters in Prague that the court's decision would only delay the contract signing. He said that all other steps would happen on time if the deal is finished. He also said the Czech government did not expect the court's decision to temporarily stop the agreement, and that CEZ plans to fight the decision.

We don't know when the Czech Supreme Administrative Court will decide about that appeal.

"The Czech government didn't think EDF's demands were a big problem and invited us to the planned signing ceremony," Ahn said. "It seems the Czech government's view was different from the court's decision."

On Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his government accepts the court's decision. He also said, "I believe the judges and the court understand how important this decision is and how it affects the safety of the Czech Republic and our country's interests."

Lee Ju-Ho, who is the acting president of South Korea, said that Seoul will work closely with the Czech Republic to finish the agreement quickly.

In July, CEZ chose KHNP instead of EDF to build two nuclear reactors at the Dukovany plant. Last week, EDF took legal action after the Czech Republic's competition office rejected their complaint about the bidding process.

Before he was removed from power last month due to a failed plan for martial law in December, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had promised to increase the export of nuclear power technology. He said that these exports had gone down under the previous government, which wanted to use less nuclear energy in South Korea. Yoon's government aimed to export 10 nuclear power reactors by 2030.