▲ The National Assembly holds a plenary session in Seoul on March 12, 2026, to vote on a special bill on South Korea's US$350 billion investment pledge to the United States. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) parliament-US investment bill

(LEAD) National Assembly passes special bill on U.S. investment pledges with bipartisan support

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with bill's passage; CHANGES photo)

By Yi Wonju

SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Thursday passed a special bill on South Korea's US$350 billion investment pledge to the United States under a trade deal between the two nations, around three months after it was first introduced by the ruling party.

The bill was approved during a plenary session of the Assembly with support from both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

The bill's passage comes around three months after the DP introduced the bill in November to carry out Seoul's investments in the U.S., including implementing a set of memorandums of understanding and the establishment of a "strategic investment fund" for the $350 billion package.

The investment will comprise $150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation and $200 billion for projects in strategic sectors.

Under the bill, a new state-run corporation specialized in implementing the investment package will be set up with a paid-in capital of 2 trillion won (US$1.36 billion), fully financed by the South Korean government.

The corporation will consist of a total workforce of 50 employees, and three members on the board of directors will be required to have at least 10 years of experience in the financial sector or strategic industries to prevent crony appointments.

The government has been seeking to accelerate the passage of the bill after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise reciprocal tariffs on Korean goods back to 25 percent from 15 percent in January, citing a delay in Seoul's legislative process needed to move the trade deal forward.

The DP and the PPP set up a special committee to fast-track the legislation and reached an agreement to pass the bill earlier this week after months of discussions.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]