Trump Locks In South Korea's Investment in Alaska LNG, Blatantly Boosting Midterms

U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally announced on September 30 (local time) that South Korea will invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project.

President Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office event alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).

This marks the announcement of the first project under South Korea's promise to make $350 billion in investments in the United States in exchange for lowering tariffs on South Korean exports from 25% to 15%.

Out of the total $350 billion, $150 billion is related to shipbuilding cooperation between the two countries, and the remaining $200 billion is for investments in sectors other than shipbuilding.

This was agreed upon during the South Korea-U.S. summit held in Gyeongju last year between President Lee Jae-myung and President Trump, and the official announcement was made today after 11 months of intense negotiations between the two sides.

In his announcement, President Trump said, "Thanks to the agreement my administration struck with South Korea, I am pleased to announce one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in U.S. history," adding, "The South Korean government will invest up to $200 billion."

He then stated that through the $200 billion investment, "a 6-gigawatt power generation facility, eight new large-scale nuclear power plants, and finally the Alaska LNG pipeline will be built."

He added, "Under our trade deal with South Korea, they have to invest hundreds of billions of dollars, and in exchange, I lowered their tariffs to 15%. They paid for the tariff reduction, and part of that funding is going into this project," locking in South Korean investment for the Alaska LNG project.

However, controversy is expected over President Trump's unilateral announcement, as the South Korean government has left the Alaska LNG project as a subject for future discussions.

While President Trump did not specify the exact amounts to be invested in each project, Secretary Lutnick, who spoke after President Trump, revealed the specific investment figures.

Secretary Lutnick emphasized that "more than $50 billion" will be invested in the Alaska LNG project.

He stated that $120 billion will be invested in building eight nuclear reactors, and $22 billion in a Texas gas-fired power plant.

Secretary Lutnick explained that the eight large nuclear reactors will be built in Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky.


South Korea maintains its stance that it has not finalized a clear investment amount for the Alaska-related business during negotiations with the U.S. regarding investments.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated in a release issued today that the two countries agreed to "begin reviewing the Alaska LNG project, conditioned on commercial rationality under the strategic investment memorandum of understanding and the fulfillment of all relevant domestic legal requirements."

President Trump's declaration that the Alaska project is included in South Korea's U.S. investments, followed by Secretary Lutnick's detailed explanation of the investment scale, is interpreted as carrying political intentions ahead of the November midterm elections.

In Alaska, Senator Sullivan, who is seeking re-election in the U.S. Senate race, is locked in a tight battle with Democratic candidate and former Representative Mary Peltola.

Although Alaska is a state where President Trump won in the 2024 presidential election, growing voter frustration over high oil prices and inflation caused by the Iran war has led the Republican Party to go all out to defend Senator Sullivan's seat.

President Trump even handed the floor over to Senator Sullivan after his opening remarks.

Senator Sullivan said, "I want to say this is the most important thing in our state," adding, "We desperately need affordable energy, and this project will provide affordable energy to Alaskans for the next 50 to 100 years."

Senator Sullivan also added that the project is "the most important thing for Alaskan voters" and that "it's great for the entire country as well. We'll be able to supply gas to Alaskans and our military first."

In response to a reporter's question that "energy costs in Alaska are tremendously high," President Trump replied, "The Iran war will be over soon, but prices are going to drop significantly anyway," and added, "Gasoline prices will plummet immediately thanks to this project and a few other projects in Alaska."

President Trump further stated, "I can't guarantee what would happen if the Democrats take power. If they take power, prices will double and there will be panic, a recession, and very bad things," adding, "Their policies are the worst. That's why they didn't get elected."
 
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News, Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.