Worth $200 Billion: What Is First US Investment Project?

[Anchor]

The South Korean government briefed the National Assembly today (September 22) on the details of its $200 billion investment project in the United States. A combined-cycle gas power plant to be built in Texas has been finalized as the first project, while the construction of nuclear power plants in the US and the Alaska LNG project were also included in the pipeline.

Son Hyeong-an reports.

[Reporter]

Minister of Trade and Industry Kim Jeong-gwan visited the National Assembly today for a closed-door briefing on the US investment projects.

[Kim Jeong-gwan / Minister of Trade and Industry: We have closely examined the projects with commercial rationality as our consistent principle. I would like to report on one project that the government has decided to pursue.]

The first confirmed project was identified as the construction of a combined-cycle gas power plant in Encinal, Texas.

With a total project cost of $22.3 billion, the government reportedly reported to the National Assembly that it can recover principal and interest by earning up to $45 billion over the next 20 years.

Concerns were raised primarily among opposition lawmakers.

[Ku Ja-keun / Lawmaker, People Power Party: Because it is still in the development stage, I conveyed that caution must be exercised regarding commercial rationality.]

The report to the National Assembly also included what was described as "plans to pursue two projects that, while not yet finalized, reflect the mutual interest of South Korea and the US."

These are the construction of eight nuclear power plants in the United States and the Alaska LNG development project.

There have also been assessments that the risks of these two projects outweigh the investment.

Regarding the nuclear power plant construction project, Minister Kim reportedly stated that negotiations are underway with the goal of "securing a 5 to 10 percent stake" in US nuclear company Westinghouse, which would also allow for voting rights, while regarding the Alaska LNG investment, he reported that "it is premature to judge commercial feasibility as the project has not taken concrete shape."

The government is also known to have clearly stated the principle that the actual execution volume of US investment will not exceed the $200 billion ceiling of the US investment fund.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Wi Won-yang)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.