South Korea nears agreement on over US$100bil in US investments

South Korea is on the verge of finalizing a significant energy investment project in the United States worth over US$100 billion, primarily focused on advancing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The agreement, which South Korea's trade ministry has yet to finalize, would involve financing the construction of up to eight nuclear power plants and a natural gas project, as confirmed by sources familiar with the matter.

This major investment follows a trade deal reached between South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in October, under which South Korea committed to investing US$350 billion in US manufacturing in exchange for capped tariffs on Korean imports at 15%. Despite this agreement, Seoul has faced implementation delays, leading to Trump's threat of imposing additional tariffs earlier this year.

The investment plan includes the construction of the first nuclear reactor, designed by American firm Westinghouse Electric, followed by additional reactors potentially utilizing designs from South Korea's KEPCO. Additionally, another investment of approximately US$20 billion is earmarked for a natural-gas powered AI data center in Texas, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.