Gov't to brief National Assembly on 1st U.S.-bound investment project under summit deal

The government will brief the National Assembly next week on the first investment project under Korea's $350 billion investment commitment to the United States, officials said Sunday.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources is scheduled to hold a closed-door briefing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for the National Assembly's trade, industry, energy, SMEs and startups committee on the planned U.S.-bound investment, according to committee officials.

Seoul and Washington adopted a joint fact sheet (JFS) following last year's summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. Under the agreement, Korea pledged $350 billion in investment in the United States, including $150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation, in exchange for lower U.S. tariff rates.

The two countries had initially been expected to announce the first project on Friday after the government briefed the National Assembly last Thursday, but the announcement was postponed as they continued to iron out differences.

"If the negotiations have been concluded by then, the briefing will cover the final outcome. If negotiations are still under way, it will be provided as an interim report," a committee official said.

"If the negotiations result in an increase in the amount of investment or terms that could put Korea at a disadvantage, lawmakers will examine the details and discuss whether parliamentary approval would be required," he added.

The National Assembly's finance committee is also discussing the timing of a separate briefing, either before or after the industry committee's meeting on Tuesday, another official said.

The government is expected to provide relatively detailed plans on the scale and allocation of funding for potential energy projects, including a large-scale gas-fired power plant in Texas and nuclear power projects.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told reporters Friday following his talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington that they agreed to continue communicating closely to implement key agreements between the two leaders.

The U.S. State Department said Rubio stressed the need to swiftly implement the investment commitments.

The JFS also includes other security-related arrangements, such as Seoul's push to develop nuclear-powered submarines and secure rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel.

Yonhap