Trump Poised to Announce Korean Investment in U.S.…Alaska LNG Project Mentioned

Announcement Expected as Early as September 30 (Local Time)

Alaska LNG Development and Nuclear Power Plant Construction Under Discussion

Korean Government: "Investment Decisions to Be Made After Commercial Viability Review for Each Project"

U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to announce Korea's investment projects in the United States as early as September 30 (local time), according to American media. In particular, there is speculation that the announcement may include the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project—estimated at a total project cost of USD 54 billion (approximately KRW 73 trillion). However, even if the U.S. side announces the project, whether Korea will actually invest and the concrete investment amount will depend on commercial viability reviews for each individual project.

Bloomberg News reported on the 29th, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, that President Trump is expected to unveil a Korean investment plan worth USD 200 billion (KRW 270 trillion) at the White House on the 30th.

In particular, the report added that the plan includes an investment of USD 54 billion in the Alaska LNG development project. The Korean government had earlier presented the Encinal Gas Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Texas, a USD 22.3 billion project, as the first case of its strategic investment in the United States in a recent report to the National Assembly. The Alaska LNG development and the construction of up to eight large scale nuclear power plants in the U.S. with a total project cost of USD 120 billion are being considered as follow-up projects. However, the government's position is that the actual investment and the scale will be decided after evaluating the commercial viability of each project separately.

Regarding the Alaska LNG development project, the Korean government plans to make investment decisions based on factors such as construction and transport costs, LNG sales prices, and long-term purchase contracts. For nuclear power plant projects, as obtaining regulatory approval and completing construction would take a long time and the risk of increased project costs is high, the government maintains that further validation of project costs and profitability structure is necessary.

However, it is also possible that President Trump may announce Korea's investment in the Alaska LNG development project as a definite commitment. He has stated several times that Korea and Japan would participate in Alaska energy projects. On September 2, while outlining plans to support the re-election of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska at the White House, Trump said that Korea, Japan, and others would secure fuel and build pipelines in Alaska. However, even then, the specific investment amounts and methods for both countries had not been finalized.

Last year, Korea pledged a total of USD 350 billion in investment into the United States as a condition for lowering tariff rates from 25% to 15% during trade negotiations. Of this, USD 150 billion was earmarked for cooperation in the shipbuilding sector and USD 200 billion for strategic investments.

The government considers the USD 200 billion not as a fixed amount that must be executed, but as the upper limit for potential investment in U.S. businesses. According to the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States recommends projects deemed commercially reasonable, and President Trump makes the final selection of investment projects.

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