White House: "Trump and Lutnick to Make Joint Announcement"...All Eyes on South Korea's Investment in the U.S. (Comprehensive)

White House Announces President Trump's Schedule for the 30th
Foreign Media Predict Alaska LNG Project May Be Included

The White House has announced that a joint statement by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is scheduled for the 30th (local time). This schedule was released after foreign media reported that President Trump is expected to announce details of South Korea's investment project in the United States on the 30th. There is growing interest in whether South Korea will unveil specific plans for investment in the United States.

On the 28th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross are seen making an announcement at the White House. Photo by AP News Agency

On the 29th, the White House announced that President Trump, together with Secretary of Commerce Lutnick, will hold a press briefing in the Oval Office (the official office) at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the 30th (4:30 a.m. on October 1, Korea Standard Time).

The White House did not reveal the details of the announcement. However, considering that Secretary Lutnick, who has been in charge of tariffs and trade negotiations, will be joining as a co-announcer, and in light of recent foreign reports, it is highly likely that the announcement will be related to South Korea's investment in the United States.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing multiple sources, that President Trump is expected to unveil a South Korea-to-U.S. investment plan worth $200 billion (KRW 270 trillion) at the White House on the 30th. It is also widely anticipated that the plan may include the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project, which has a total project cost of $54 billion (about KRW 73 trillion). In particular, the report added that Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, Representative Nick Begich—both representing Alaska—and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy will attend the announcement as presenters.

However, even if the U.S. side announces the project, South Korea's actual investment and its size will be determined through further commercial feasibility studies for each individual project. Previously, the South Korean government named the construction of a gas combined cycle power plant in Encinal, Texas, with a total project cost of $22.3 billion, as the first investment project in the United States in its report to the National Assembly. As follow-up projects, it is considering the Alaska LNG development project and the installation of up to eight large nuclear power plants in the U.S., with a potential total value of up to $120 billion, but said that the specific investment amounts have not been finalized yet.

Kim Jungkwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, gave a preliminary report on investment in the United States on the 22nd to the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Venture Business Committee, in accordance with the "Special Act on the Operation and Management of Strategic Investment between the Republic of Korea and the United States." Yonhap News Agency

For the Alaska LNG development project, the South Korean government says it will determine whether and how much to invest based on construction costs, transportation costs, LNG selling prices, and the terms of long-term purchase agreements. Regarding the nuclear power plant project, the government emphasizes that, due to the lengthy permitting and construction process as well as significant project cost escalation risks, further verification of project costs and revenue structures is needed. For the initial Encinal gas combined cycle power plant project, there are still remaining procedures to finalize the detailed investment terms. As the plant is expected to supply electricity to nearby artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and other facilities, whether a stable customer base can be secured through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) is regarded as a key variable for investment profitability.

However, the possibility cannot be excluded that President Trump may present South Korean investment in the Alaska LNG development project as a fait accompli. He has publicly stated several times that South Korea and Japan will participate in energy projects in Alaska. On the 2nd of this month, while explaining his support for Senator Sullivan’s reelection at the White House, he remarked that countries such as South Korea and Japan would secure fuel and build pipelines in Alaska. Even at that time, the specific scale and method of investment for both countries had yet to be determined.

Last year, South Korea pledged a total of $350 billion in investment to the United States during trade negotiations in return for lowering tariffs from 25% to 15%. Of this, $150 billion was allocated to cooperation in the shipbuilding sector and $200 billion to strategic investments. The government views the $200 billion not as a fixed amount that must be executed, but as a maximum allowable investment cap for projects in the United States.

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