[Reporter's Notebook] U.S. Investments Must Deliver Ripple Effects for Korean Industry

As the government specifies its investments in the United States, focusing on gas combined cycle power and nuclear power generation, the industrial sector is abuzz with anticipation. The project is taking concrete shape, with the first investment target reportedly being a gas combined cycle power plant in Texas. However, merely constructing a power plant cannot be considered a success. If Korean companies are excluded despite providing massive capital, it could result in a national loss where we help solve the U.S. power shortage but reap no tangible benefits ourselves.

The field where immediate results can be achieved is gas turbines. As the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the United States intensifies power shortages, the country needs to rapidly increase its gas combined cycle power plants, which have relatively short construction periods. Gas turbines are the core equipment that determines the performance and business potential of the plant. After years of research and development, Korean firms have developed and commercialized power generation gas turbines using their own technology, breaking dependence on foreign products. We therefore possess both the technical capability and the justification to supply domestically produced products to the power plants we invest in.

This should not end with just selling a handful of pieces of equipment. Securing a delivery record in the United States opens doors not only for new power plants and replacements of aging facilities, but also for entry into the long-term parts supply, maintenance, and service markets. This also makes it possible for Korean materials and components companies to expand alongside. Conversely, if foreign products are used, it would mean that public funds only boost competitors' performance and long-term profits.

Nuclear power is an opportunity to broaden the domestic industrial base in the medium to long term. Korean companies possess competitiveness throughout the nuclear power sector, from design to manufacturing of main and auxiliary equipment, to construction. By participating in new nuclear power and small modular reactor (SMR) projects in the U.S., they can gain local experience and lay the foundation for future contracts. However, since project durations are long and there are significant risks of licensing and construction delays, mechanisms such as power purchase agreements (PPAs) and loan guarantees are needed to secure investment returns.

Taxes and policy-based financing will be committed to this investment. Unlike Japan, where companies use mostly their own capital, Koreans are exposed to more risk, so both profits and industrial gains must return to Korea. The government must maximize the provision of Korean-made equipment and the involvement of domestic companies in design, procurement, and construction (EPC), operation and maintenance, and equity participation throughout the power development process.

Investment in the United States should go beyond a simple injection of funds and serve as an opportunity to open export channels for Korean technologies and secure long-term growth prospects for the domestic industrial sector. At this critical juncture, wisdom is needed to turn the risks borne by the public into industrial competitiveness and transform them into a stepping stone for new growth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.