The United States has pinned down an investment of over 50 billion dollars for the Alaska LNG development project—which South Korea classified as "under review" due to commercial rationality—emerging as a critical variable in future bilateral negotiations between Seoul and Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 30th local time in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., that South Korea's investment projects in the U.S. have been finalized as the construction of the Texas gas power plant, the construction of eight large nuclear power plants, and the Alaska LNG development.

He specifically remarked, "We are also building eight large nuclear plants and finally moving forward with the Alaska LNG pipeline."

The problem is that the South Korean government has never agreed to this.

While negotiating a total of 200 billion dollars in investment caps for the U.S., South Korea and the U.S. agreed on the specific amounts and directions for the Encinal combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Texas (22.3 billion dollars) and the construction of up to eight large nuclear power plants (up to 120 billion dollars).

On the other hand, the South Korean side has never finalized its participation in the Alaska project.

This project involves transporting natural gas produced from the Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson oil and gas fields on the North Slope of Alaska via a pipeline of approximately 1,300 kilometers to the south, liquefying it, and shipping it to demand markets such as Asia.

Due to the massive initial investment required and the uncertainty of securing profitability, persistent concerns have been raised regarding its commercial viability.

Even prominent U.S. energy companies such as ExxonMobil have previously withdrawn from the project citing risks of investment recovery.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan stated at the National Assembly in November of last year, "The Alaska gas pipeline project is a high-risk venture," adding, "Since commercial rationality is limited to projects capable of generating cash flow, it is not easy for us to participate under our criteria."

President Lee Jae-myung also remarked during a press conference held at the Yeongbinwan reception hall of the Blue House on September 18, "As we began specific investment discussions, that (commercial rationality) started becoming an issue again," and added, "We only pursue projects with commercial rationality. National interest is truly important."

Consequently, the South Korean government's stance was to decide whether to invest in the Alaska project only after additional review.

Unlike the Encinal gas-fired power plant and the construction of eight large nuclear reactors, the Alaska project had not even specified an estimated project cost.

However, with President Trump making a definitive announcement regarding the Alaska LNG project on this day, the South Korean government now faces intense pressure to participate in this quintessential high-risk venture.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick explicitly specified on the same day that South Korea's related investment scale would amount to "over 50 billion dollars."

The announcement event was packed with Trump administration cabinet members including Commerce Secretary Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, alongside Senator Dan Sullivan (Republican) and Representative Nick Begich (Republican) representing Alaska, and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy.

Brendan Duval, CEO of Glenfarne Group, the developer of the Alaska LNG project, also attended as an industry representative.

This highlights how much effort the Trump administration is pouring into Alaska ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.

In these midterm elections, Alaska is classified as a key battleground for the Republican Party to maintain its majority in the Senate.

Evaluations suggest that President Trump effectively utilized South Korea's investment announcement event in the U.S. as a stage to support the reelection of the Republican senator from Alaska.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)