Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
National Assembly passes bill on $350 bil. investment in US
Lawmakers pass the special bill on investment in the United States during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. The law will provide a legal framework for Korea's $350 billion worth of investment projects in the U.S. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
Bipartisan agreement reached after special committee facilitates legislation
The National Assembly passed a special bill on Korea’s investments in the United States Thursday, establishing a legal framework to manage $350 billion worth of investment projects agreed upon by the two countries.
Lawmakers passed the legislation after reaching a bipartisan agreement during a plenary session. Of the 242 lawmakers participating in the session, 226 voted for it and eight opposed, with another eight abstaining.
The bill was passed around three months after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the investment and tariff issues, and about six weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Korean goods from 15 percent to 25 percent, citing "delays" in the legislation process.
President Lee Jae Myung welcomed the passage of the bill.
“The bill’s passage is a meaningful example showing that there are no partisan divides when it comes to national priorities,” he wrote in a post on X. “It establishes the legal and institutional foundation needed to implement the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement.”
Lee added that the government would push ahead with follow-up measures so that the investment initiative can strengthen supply chains and economic security for both countries.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael G. DeSombre, who has been visiting Korea, described the legislation as a positive development during his meeting with Korean officials, according to the foreign ministry.
He and Second Vice Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hae stressed the need to move quickly to identify concrete investment projects and implement follow-up measures.
The new law is aimed at providing administrative and financial backing for projects linked to economic cooperation between the two countries, including $150 billion for shipbuilding.
A key provision of the legislation is the creation of a new entity called the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corp., which will oversee the investment projects in the U.S.
The corporation will be set up with a paid-in capital of 2 trillion won ($1.36 billion), with the funding to be raised through Korean government contributions, entrusted assets and the issuance of strategic investment bonds.
Officials say the new system aims to provide a clearer structure for managing investment programs and improve transparency in large overseas investment projects.
The legislation also requires that investment decisions meet a standard of commercial rationality. If that condition is not met, the government must obtain prior approval from the Assembly before proceeding with the investment.
Lawmakers say the clause was included to ensure oversight of major government-backed overseas investments.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said passage of the bill should help stabilize the trade environment amid growing global uncertainty.
“We expect tariff risks and trade uncertainties to be significantly reduced,” said Rep. Han Byung-do, the party’s floor leader. “The government will make thorough preparations so that investment projects in the U.S. can proceed without disruption.”
The legislation comes against the backdrop of mounting trade pressure from Washington.
The DPK proposed the bill on Nov. 26 last year, after the earlier MOU led to a reduction of Trump's blanket tariffs on Korean goods as well as some item-specific tariffs, such as a vehicle levy that retroactively dropped to 15 percent from 25 percent.
However, the legislative process did not proceed as fast as Washington had anticipated due to political disputes here, including a prolonged filibuster toward the end of the previous parliamentary session.
In late January, Trump threatened to raise tariffs back to 25 percent, arguing that Seoul had failed to complete the legislative procedures required to implement the trade agreement.
His remarks prompted the rival parties here to form a special Assembly committee in February, which unanimously approved the special act on Monday.