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By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled South Korea's U.S. investment projects, including the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large-scale nuclear power plants and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska.
The announcement followed protracted negotiations over several energy investment projects under last year's bilateral trade agreement that committed Korea to investing US$350 billion in the United States -- $150 billion for the shipbuilding sector and the remainder for strategic investments -- in return for lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.
Trump made the announcement alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), calling the investment plans "one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in American history."
"(South Korea) will invest up to $200 billion ... to build a 6-gigawatt power generation facility in Texas. That's a major plant. That's about as big as you will see, (and) eight new large-scale nuclear power plants," Trump said at the White House.
"And at long last, Alaska liquefied natural gas pipeline. That's a big one," he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Sept. 30, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)
Trump highlighted the investment plans as he has underscored his economic achievements ahead of the November midterm elections amid public concerns over the monthslong war with Iran that has left energy prices high and deepened economic uncertainties.
Lutnick said that over $50 billion will be invested in the Alaska LNG project, while $120 billion, including a $20 billion "contingency" fund, will be funneled into the project to build eight "gigantic" nuclear power plants "across the United States," including Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky.
The secretary cast the Texas gas-fired power plant as a project worth over $22 billion.
The Seoul government believes that only the Texas plant project has been finalized, while leaving the Alaska and nuclear power projects for further discussions.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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