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The major players in international nuclear power plant construction now have a surprising new competitor with which to contend. The U.S., France, Japan, and Russia are welcoming South Korea to the atomic table, thanks to the nation’s recent winning bid to build four new nuclear plants in the Middle East. It’s a first for South Korea and the largest single business contract in the country’s history.

But that’s not the most telling and arresting news. The fact that these new plants will be the first ever constructed in the Arab world is raising eyebrows and will have myriad watchdogs – both pro- and anti-nuke – hovering over this story as it plays out over the next decade.

A few weeks ago, the United Arab Emirates selected a consortium led by Korea Electric Power (KEPCO) to build four nuclear power plants by 2020 under a $20.4 billion contract. KEPCO won the contract over a U.S. team led by General Electric and a French team led by Electricite de France/Areva.

Quite a surprise for the G.E. team, given the close relationships the U.S. has with both South Korea and the U.A.E. But the decision came down to price, not politics. The U.A.E. chose KEPCO because its bid was hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than the competition. Why?  Because the nuclear power plant the Koreans will build won’t be strong enough to withstand the impact of a crashing airliner – a standard many feel cannot be ignored in a post-9/11 world and one that western countries tend to assume is de riguer.

As the world deals with increasing energy needs, decreasing supplies of fossil fuels, and greater demand for a greener planet, more and more countries will turn to a nuclear solution. Even the oil-rich U.A.E. has limited supplies of natural gas to fuel its electrical plants, so it seeks nuclear energy. The fact that the country’s nuclear plants won’t be as secure as those built in other regions doesn’t seem to be of too much concern, at least to the U.A.E., despite the country’s proximity to Iran. Cost is the controlling factor.

The move to a world powered more and more by nuclear energy is, in all likelihood, unavoidable. But the industry needs to be wary of letting cost considerations drive down safety standards – as one high-profile accident is likely all it would take to still birth nuclear power’s nascent rejuvenation.

Michael Konczal is a Senior Vice President of Levick Strategic Communications, the nation’s top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.