Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hyoung-il confirmed that $2.4 billion was remitted to the United States on October 1 as the first investment in the U.S.

During the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee audit today (October 6), when asked by Representative Lim I-ja of the People Power Party whether "$2.4 billion was remitted (to the U.S.) on October 1 after South Korea and the U.S. jointly announced fact sheets on September 30 and October 1, respectively," Deputy Prime Minister Lee replied, "Yes."

On October 1, South Korea and the United States finalized "Project Star" as their initial venture, which involves constructing and operating a 6.472-gigawatt (GW) combined-cycle gas turbine power plant for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in Encinal, Texas.

The funds, representing just over 10% of the total project cost of approximately $22.3 billion, were sent immediately after the agreement was reached, and Deputy Prime Minister Lee's remarks today mark the first time the government has officially confirmed the remittance.

Rep. Lim pointed out, "If it is determined to have commercial viability, prior reporting is required, but if it lacks commercial viability, consent from the National Assembly is necessary; yet, there were no such discussions at all."

Deputy Prime Minister Lee then emphasized, "We included it in the fact sheet only after going through all the reporting procedures to the National Assembly."

Regarding the commercial rationality of the Texas power plant project, he explained, "I believe it has been satisfied."

When Rep. Lim pointed out that South Korea and the U.S. were issuing conflicting messages regarding the $54 billion scale of "Project North" (Alaska LNG development), Lee countered, "We are speaking strictly in accordance with what is outlined in the fact sheet."

Deputy Prime Minister Lee stressed, "(Project North) is at the stage of initiating review, and we must also evaluate its commercial viability," adding, "We plan to continue reviewing it in a way that enhances commercial feasibility."

(Photo: Yonhap News)