A Westinghouse board seat starts at 4.1 trillion won of Korea's own cash

The route where Washington simply hands over shares has a ceiling built into it. The U.S. government's post-IPO holding equals 20% of Westinghouse's valuation minus $17.5 billion ^[15], which at a $30 billion listing is $2.5 billion of stock, or 8.33% of the company ^[1]. The shareholder pact's floor for naming a director is 10% ^[9]. Work the formula backwards. Westinghouse has to be worth $35 billion before the American stake reaches that floor: 20% of $17.5 billion is $3.5 billion, and $3.5 billion is a tenth of $35 billion ^[2]. Washington secured the right to demand an IPO once the company is worth more than $30 billion ^[14].

Which leaves the cash. At a $30 billion valuation, about 41 trillion won, buying 10% takes 4.1 trillion won ^[16]. The state fund launching this year is worth at least 500 billion won to KEPCO ^[17], roughly an eighth of that purchase ^[4]. Sedaily does not say where the other 3.6 trillion won comes from ^[5].

Ten percent buys one director. Brookfield and Cameco each name three, their votes split 51 and 49 in line with ownership, and Cameco holds consent rights over major management matters that reach the board ^[8]. The same 10% floor carries the power to block reserved matters, such as a controlling shareholder transacting with a related party ^[9]. Korea's plan, according to Sedaily, is to lock in at least 10% first and then take on the intellectual property problems that have repeatedly hampered its reactor exports ^[10]. "What matters is not the percentage but what powers you can wield on the board," said Hur Yoon, a professor at Sogang University's Graduate School of International Studies ^[13]. He said the method of acquiring the stake "has to be negotiated not only with the U.S. government but with the two main shareholders" ^[12].

The exclusion from the $200 billion cap, reported by Sedaily on the basis of unnamed sources, matters more than any other term, in my view. It moves the purchase off a government package and onto a state utility's funding plan ^[1][2]. Two other readings are live. The U.S. is under pressure to keep Korean involvement in plant construction to a minimum ^[11]. A holding under 10%, paired with licensing terms written into a corporate deal, could serve the export aim better than a seat would. "Along with the bilateral MOU, a corporate agreement between KEPCO, KHNP and Westinghouse could be announced as well," a government official said ^[7]. Or the cap exclusion does not survive the last round of talks. Size and price are both still being negotiated ^[5]. The government moved its National Assembly briefing to the 22nd from the 17th, and the signing previously expected on the 18th now looks likely to slip past that date ^[18]. "The broad framework of the talks is intact, but several issues still require last-minute agreement," a ruling party official said ^[19].