Kim Jung-gwan: "Alaska LNG Has Strategic Value... Review Premised on Commercial Viability"

[Anchor]

Appearing at the parliamentary audit, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-gwan stated regarding the "Alaska LNG project" mentioned by President Trump that "a new strategic value has emerged." However, he drew the line for now, emphasizing that an investment decision has not been finalized. Meanwhile, at the audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, single-stock leveraged ETFs came under fire over policy accountability.

Kim Jin-u reports.

[Reporter]

At the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Lawmakers focused their questions on U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that framed the Alaska LNG project as if it had already been finalized as South Korea's investment project in the United States.

[Song Jae-bong / Democratic Party Lawmaker: In my view, it seems like (U.S. President Trump) is talking without any basis right now.]

[Choi Soo-jin / People Power Party Lawmaker: For a project where economic feasibility evaluation and validation haven't even been completed, how on earth can the U.S. speak about it like this?]

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-gwan acknowledged that the project's economic feasibility had indeed been low in the past, but offered this response.

[Kim Jung-gwan / Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: Going through the Middle East conflict, there clearly is a part where Alaska LNG has gained a new strategic, how should I put it, value.]

However, he drew the line by stating that South Korea is in close discussions with the United States based on the principle of commercial rationality, and that nothing is finalized.

[Kim Jung-gwan / Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: Starting the review means it is premised on commercial rationality, which I have repeatedly and clearly stated before.]

Earlier, U.S. Vice President JD Vance also noted that there are still details left to coordinate with South Korea.

[JD Vance / U.S. Vice President: Obviously, there are still some details to coordinate, and as you know, the South Korean side has also mentioned that point.]

At the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, single-stock leveraged ETFs became a key issue. In response to criticism from the People Power Party asking whether it was a "policy failure," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il responded as follows.

[Lee Hyung-il / Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance: Regarding the significant losses suffered by individual investors, I find it regrettable that we could not fully resolve this in advance.]

Regarding the People Power Party's demand to submit Cheong Wa Dae meeting minutes related to the introduction of leveraged ETFs, the Democratic Party maintained that the matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly's Economy and Finance Planning Committee.

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