S. Korea picks Texas power plant as 1st U.S. investment project: sources

industry ministry-US investment

이해아

| 2026-09-22 11:40:51

▲ Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan briefs the parliamentary trade committee on the details of South Korea's investment plans for the United States at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2026. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has chosen the construction of a large-scale gas-fired power plant in Texas as its first investment project under its US$350 billion investment commitment to the United States, political sources said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources reported the plan to the parliamentary trade committee during a closed-door session, the sources said, following months of negotiations to execute a South Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet on South Korean investment pledges in return for lower U.S. import tariffs.

As the second and third projects, the ministry identified the construction of eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the U.S. and a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, according to the sources.

To pursue the nuclear reactor project, South Korea is in talks with the U.S. to secure a 5 to 10 percent stake in U.S. energy firm Westinghouse, the ministry was quoted as saying.

The investments will not proceed in the event the total amount exceeds $20 billion annually and $200 billion overall, it reportedly said.

A committee member told reporters on condition of anonymity that the ministry believes the Texas project will be profitable while no details have been finalized for the Alaska project.

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