Trump, Who Urged Investment in the U.S., Hesitates on Final Sign-Off

No Official U.S. Announcement Six Days After Report to National Assembly
Trump Holds Final Investment Selection Authority Under MOU
Government: "No New Variables or Issues"

Yonhap News Agency

The domestic procedures for the $200 billion strategic investment in the United States have been virtually completed, but the U.S. "final sign-off" continues to be delayed. As of the 28th, six days after the government reported its first project implementation plan to the National Assembly on the 22nd, the final announcement from the U.S. side has yet to be made. Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on strategic investment signed between South Korea and the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump holds the authority to make the final selection of investment destinations recommended by the U.S. Investment Committee. Given that President Trump has made additional demands in the past regarding tariffs and investment in the U.S., it cannot be ruled out that he may present a different assessment of the project contents or conditions in the final selection process.

According to the government on the 28th, Article 1 of the South Korea-U.S. strategic investment MOU stipulates that the U.S. President shall select the investment projects based on recommendations from the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee, chaired by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, is responsible for recommending projects deemed commercially reasonable to the President. Before making a recommendation, there must be direct consultation with South Korea or prior discussion through the Korea-U.S. Consultation Committee, chaired by Kim Jeonggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. During this process, South Korea may offer opinions on strategic and legal considerations.

The Korean government reported the plan for strategic investment in the United States to the National Assembly on the 22nd. The first project involves developing the Encinal Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant in Texas, with a total project cost of $22.3 billion, and subsequent plans reportedly include reviewing the construction of eight large nuclear power plants in the U.S. and an Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

President Trump’s selection is a procedure necessary for actual investment execution. The MOU stipulates that South Korea’s investment payment must be made at least 45 business days after receiving notification of investment selection by the U.S. President. Even after President Trump selects the investment destination, the final investment decision and capital disbursement must be reviewed and resolved by the domestic Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Steering Committee. This means that despite the Korean government completing its report to the National Assembly, the U.S. President’s selection and the final domestic investment decision procedures remain outstanding.

However, five days after the report to the National Assembly, no official announcement has yet been made from the U.S. side. Given that the United States has previously demanded swift implementation of investment from South Korea, some are speculating that further internal review may be underway in the U.S. as the announcement is delayed more than anticipated.

In particular, President Trump recently mentioned the possibility of raising tariffs on Korean products over the pace of investment implementation. He has also openly expressed dissatisfaction regarding other Korea-U.S. issues, such as support for the Iran war and the treatment of U.S. companies operating in South Korea. This backdrop has raised concerns that additional demands may be made or other issues may be raised during the final selection process for U.S. investment.

Of course, the MOU does not grant President Trump the authority to arbitrarily select projects for U.S. investment that have not been coordinated with South Korea. The recommendations from the Investment Committee and prior consultation between the two countries are required. However, considering President Trump’s negotiating style—such as introducing new demands outside existing negotiation frameworks or reopening already-discussed matters—it is difficult to conclude that all uncertainties have been resolved based solely on the procedures stipulated in the MOU. In this situation, the delayed announcement from the U.S. raises the possibility that President Trump’s final selection process may become another variable.

The government is drawing a line against interpreting the delay in announcement as the emergence of new negotiating variables. A government official stated, "Our domestic procedures have been completed with the report to the National Assembly. More time is needed to complete the U.S. internal procedures for a joint announcement of the project implementation plan," adding, "As of now, we are not aware of any new variables or issues that have arisen."

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