Trump Says "Korea to Invest $50 Billion"…U.S. Fact Sheet Indicates Conditional Agreement

Alaska LNG Deal Contingent on "Commercial Reasonableness"
Investment Amounts, Equity Shares, and Timeline Omitted from Fact Sheet
Specific Nuclear Plant Locations Also Not Stated

Contrary to the unilateral announcement by the U.S. President Donald Trump administration that South Korea had agreed to invest more than 50 billion dollars in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, official documents from the U.S. government specify that this investment is conditional on meeting "commercial reasonableness."

According to a fact sheet on strategic investment projects in the United States, published on the U.S. Department of Commerce website on September 30 (local time), "Project North," the Alaska LNG initiative, states: "We have agreed to commence cooperation on the Alaska LNG project on the condition that commercial reasonableness and all relevant domestic legal requirements under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on strategic investment are fulfilled."

Portion related to the Alaska LNG project "Project North" in the fact sheet on South Korea's investment projects in the U.S. published by the U.S. Department of Commerce on the 30th (local time). U.S. Department of Commerce website

The fact sheet did not specify a particular investment amount, equity ratio, or project timeline for the Alaska project on that day. The terms of the agreement between the two countries only covered the commencement of cooperation on the Alaska LNG project. The United States indicated that it would support Korean companies and suppliers to secure favorable participation in project development. Additionally, it committed to providing measures, to the extent possible, to ensure that purchase contracts can be concluded at economically reasonable prices, and to granting South Korea priority access to Alaska LNG produced from this project.

This stands in stark contrast to the previous announcement by the Trump administration. President Trump, while announcing South Korea's U.S. strategic investment projects in the White House Oval Office that day, suggested that South Korea’s participation in the Alaska LNG project was definitive. At the event, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick not only mentioned the Alaska LNG investment, but also named a specific amount, saying that more than 50 billion dollars would be invested.

President Trump also posted on his social networking service, Truth Social, stating, "The United States and South Korea have agreed to commence working together on a 50 billion dollar Alaska LNG project," again noting a specific investment amount. This post also did not reference the prerequisites for the project that were set out in the Korea-U.S. fact sheet.

On the other hand, immediately after the White House announcement, the South Korean government maintained that the jointly issued fact sheet was the official basis for the Korea-U.S. agreement, and stated that participation in the project remained "under review." The government also reiterated its intention to assess individual investments in alignment with commercial reasonableness and strategic value, in ways that serve the national interest.

The Korea-U.S. nuclear power cooperation project, "Project Power," was also described in the fact sheet as an eight-unit nuclear power plant construction in the United States, totaling 120 billion dollars in planned investment. Of this, 100 billion dollars would be construction costs and 20 billion dollars would be set aside as a reserve. Both countries also agreed to cooperate on the transfer of an advance payment of approximately 10 billion dollars by the end of the year.

This, too, differs from earlier U.S. announcements. Secretary Lutnick, in the White House announcement, specifically named Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky as the locations for the eight large-scale plants. However, such details were not identified in the fact sheet. The South Korean government also responded to these announcements by stating that "the content in the fact sheet constitutes the official agreement standard between the two countries."

The Texas gas power plant construction project, "Project Star," included detailed information on the scale and timeline: a project amount of 22.3 billion dollars, power generation capacity of 6,472 MW, the first phase of commercial operation beginning in 2029, and full operation of all facilities by 2032.

Foreign media analyzed that President Trump was highlighting the conditional Korea-U.S. agreement as if it were more definite than it actually is, with the November midterm elections in mind, particularly given the close race in Alaska’s Senate contest. This reflects a "performance inflation" for political purposes. In fact, the announcement at the White House was attended by prominent figures from Alaska, including Senator Dan Sullivan (Republican–Alaska).

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