The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported exclusively on the 10th local time that an agreement with the United States is imminent on a plan to invest more than $100 billion (about 134 trillion won) in the energy sector as the first project under the U.S.-bound investment agreement Korea signed with the United States last year.
Citing multiple sources the same day, the WSJ said the investment plan, which includes eight nuclear power plants and a natural gas project, could be announced as early as next week. The investment is tentatively expected to exceed $100 billion.
However, because negotiations are still ongoing, details and the timing of the announcement could change, the WSJ said. Sources said the site and schedule for the nuclear plants have not been finalized, but there is a possibility they will be built on U.S. government-owned land.
The natural gas project investment is about $20 billion and is related to a natural gas power plant to be built in Texas, according to the sources. Power produced at the plant is expected to be supplied to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
If the transaction proceeds as planned, Korea is prepared to make an initial payment exceeding $2 billion (about 2.7 trillion won) by the end of this month, multiple sources said.
Last year, Korea pledged a total of $350 billion in U.S.-bound investment and to purchase $100 billion worth of U.S. energy over the next four years, in return for the United States lowering the tariff it planned to impose on Korean-made products from 25% to 15%.
The White House declined to comment on the matter, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy told the WSJ that nothing has been decided yet regarding investment in the United States.