Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Rhee Hyung-il confirmed that $2.4 billion in initial U.S. investment funds was remitted to the United States on October 1.

During the parliamentary audit held by the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly on October 6, when People Power Party lawmaker Lim이자 asked, "Was $2.4 billion remitted to the U.S. on October 1, following the joint fact sheet announcement by South Korea and the U.S. on September 30 and October 1, respectively?", DPM Rhee replied, "Yes."

On October 1, South Korea and the U.S. finalized "Project Star," a project to build and operate a combined-cycle gas turbine power plant dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers with a capacity of 6.472 gigawatts (GW) in Encinal, Texas, as their first joint venture.

Just over 10 percent of the total project cost of approximately $22.3 billion was remitted immediately following the agreement, and DPM Rhee's remarks today mark the first time the government has officially confirmed this fact.

Lawmaker Lim pointed out, "If it is judged to have commercial viability, it requires prior reporting; if not, it requires consent from the National Assembly, but there was no such discussion whatsoever."

In response, DPM Rhee emphasized, "We went through all the National Assembly reporting procedures before including it in the fact sheet."

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

Lawmaker Lim noted that although the strategic investment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stipulates the remittance timing as "the date on which at least 45 business days have elapsed from the date of notification of investment selection," the investment funds were remitted immediately. She asked, "Is this a phrasing error in the MOU?"

Acknowledging the error by stating, "There is that aspect," DPM Rhee nevertheless emphasized, "We had continuously discussed it within an initial 45-day period."

When Lawmaker Lim pressed, "Do you sign MOUs without even reading them?", DPM Rhee explained, "There was no particular reason for us to point out that part," adding, "If South Korea and the U.S. agree, we can send it quickly."

This implies that during subsequent legally binding operation agreement negotiations, the U.S. side strongly pushed for "within 45 business days," but South Korea leveraged the favorable MOU wording to uphold the "45 business days" clause, thereby preventing the designation of an even faster remittance deadline.

Regarding the $120 billion nuclear power plant construction project called "Project Power," in response to Democratic Party lawmaker Chung Tae-ho's point that there is a U.S. demand to preferentially remit $10 billion by December 31, DPM Rhee drew a line, stating, "Commercial rationality must be verified, and all procedures under the National Assembly and domestic laws must be fully completed."

He added, "The $2.4 billion is related to the Texas power plant mentioned earlier, not Project Power."

When Lawmaker Lim pointed out that regarding "Project North" (the Alaska LNG development project), worth $54.0 billion, South Korea and the U.S. have been issuing conflicting messages, DPM Rhee countered, "We are speaking according to the contents in the fact sheet."

He drew a line by stating that the review of the commercial rationality for this project has just begun, and no decision has been made yet on whether to invest.

DPM Rhee emphasized, "Although it is difficult to disclose specific details of the consultations as they are confidential, discussions will take place within the $200 billion limit" (the investment ceiling agreed upon during tariff negotiations).

Regarding plans should commercial rationality fall short, he said, "It is difficult to answer based on hypothetical premises," but added, "We will consult with the U.S. to secure additional conditions so that commercial rationality can be enhanced."

(Photo: Yonhap News)