Korea decides on 1st US investment project, draws up plans for 2 others

Korea has decided on the first project it will pursue under its $350 billion U.S. investment pledge and drawn up implementation plans for two others as Seoul and Washington continue to finalize details of their investment agreement.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan briefed the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on the projects Tuesday, saying the government had decided to pursue the project after reviews by committees chaired by the industry and finance ministers.

“Today, I would like to report on one project for which the government has decided to pursue,” Kim said during the committee's plenary session.

He added that the government had prepared implementation plans for two other projects that have not yet been approved but reflect shared interests between Korea and the United States.

“Although we have not yet decided to pursue these projects specifically, I would like to report on the implementation plans for two projects that reflect the interests of both countries,” he said.

Kim said the government had identified projects that could benefit Korea and reviewed U.S.-proposed projects based on their commercial viability.

“The government has sought to take a balanced approach from the perspective of the national interest so that U.S. investment goes beyond simply putting in and recovering funds and instead becomes an opportunity for Korean companies to expand their presence in the U.S. market and use the United States as a stepping stone to global markets,” he said.

The briefing was held behind closed doors because it included sensitive details about the negotiations and investment terms.

The project is widely believed to be the Encinal natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Texas, on which Seoul and Washington are thought to have narrowed their differences.

The project involves about $22.3 billion in investment to build 6.3 gigawatts of power generation capacity in Texas, where electricity demand is rising with the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor facilities.

The two projects could be the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and a U.S. nuclear power investment, according to market and government sources, although no final decisions have been made.

Both projects remain subject to negotiations over commercial viability and investment terms. Reuters reported that Seoul and Washington have also discussed building up to eight nuclear reactors in the United States and a potential minority stake in Westinghouse, while the Alaska LNG project is also under review as a potential investment.

The government has pledged $200 billion in strategic investment as part of a broader $350 billion U.S. investment package tied to a bilateral trade deal. The remaining $150 billion is earmarked for shipbuilding.