Lee Hyung-il: "$10 Billion Payment for U.S. Nuclear Project Will Be Remitted Only After Commercial Viability Is Verified" [2026 National Audit]

National Assembly Audit of Ministry of Economy and Finance
"Regret Over Failure to Prevent Losses from Leveraged ETFs"

Yonhap News Agency

On October 6, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyungil addressed the controversy over the introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). He stated, "I regret not being able to address in advance the significant losses suffered by individual investors."

Regarding the $10 billion advance payment for the Korea-US nuclear power project, he reiterated that the payment will only be made once the commercial viability has been fully verified.

Vice Prime Minister Lee made these comments while answering questions at the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee audit on this day. During the hearing, opposition parties pressed him on whether the introduction of leveraged ETFs was discussed at a closed meeting on January 13 chaired by former Blue House policy chief Kim Yongbeom, and what role Vice Prime Minister Lee played in the process.

He responded, "It is difficult to comment in detail since the meeting was hosted by the Blue House, but I did attend." He added, "The meeting was a venue where industry participants made various suggestions for the advancement of the capital market, and we listened to the industry's input together."

The opposition party identified Vice Prime Minister Lee and First Vice Chairman Kwon Daeyoung—who attended the meeting as First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance and Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, respectively—as those responsible for the issue. They argued that the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs resulted in losses of approximately KRW 54 trillion for individual investors due to increased volatility and distorted the capital market.

Regarding his involvement in the introduction process, Vice Prime Minister Lee simply stated, "The Financial Services Commission leads the introduction of individual financial products." He further explained, "My understanding is that the intent behind introducing this product was to advance the capital market and address regulatory arbitrage."

When asked about whether policy chief Kim proposed the idea, as the proposal submitted by the industry at the meeting did not include any mention of leveraged products, Vice Prime Minister Lee said, "I don't recall clearly."

He also reiterated, "I regret not being able to address in advance the significant losses suffered by individual investors."

Regarding the $10 billion advance payment for the Korea-US nuclear power project, he clearly stated, "We will only make the payment after commercial viability has been fully verified."

Korea and the United States have agreed on the Project Power Framework to construct eight large-scale nuclear power plants in the United States as part of the "Korea-US Strategic Investment Project" announced on October 1. As part of this, they discussed possibly providing up to $10 billion in advance payments by the end of the year.

Some opposition lawmakers criticized the government for including this in the joint fact sheet without a full discussion of the necessary procedures, such as reporting to and obtaining approval from the National Assembly.

Regarding the first Korea-to-US investment project, the $22.3 billion Encinal gas combined-cycle power plant construction in Texas, he officially confirmed that $2.4 billion—roughly 10% of the project cost—was remitted to the United States on October 1.

Regarding the controversy over the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which is estimated at $50 billion to $55 billion, he said that the project is still under review and that the decision on whether and how much to invest has not yet been made. He added that the final decision will be based on an assessment of commercial viability and the possibility of recouping the investment.

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