Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the plan to use a U.S.-focused investment fund for Korea Zinc's ongoing smelter construction project in Tennessee is "a topic to discuss with the U.S. side."
After briefing President Lee Jae-myung on the 17th, the Minister said at a briefing that "as of now, it has not reached the stage of concrete consultations," and stated accordingly.
Earlier, on the 15th, Korea Zinc announced a large-scale investment plan to invest a total of 10.95 trillion won together with the U.S. government and corporations to build a smelter in Tennessee that will produce nonferrous metals such as antimony and germanium.
The Minister said, "There was a consensus in August in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Korea Zinc's plant establishment," and evaluated that "it will help Korea not only Korea Zinc but also in stably building supply chains for rare earths and critical minerals." The Minister added, "Even though the financial burden could be considerable, Korea Zinc made a strategic judgment, which I view positively as the minister in charge of critical minerals."
On concerns about the financial burden, the Minister said, "I understand that Korea Zinc has sufficiently calculated expense and revenue," and explained, "As it is an investment in the United States, the U.S. Department of Commerce also welcomes the project." The Minister added, "In the course of concrete investment steps ahead, using a U.S.-focused investment fund is a matter to discuss with the U.S. Department of Commerce."
Under a memorandum of understanding on U.S.-focused investment signed with the United States last month, the government plans to create a $200 billion Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Fund and invest in U.S.-focused projects with secured commercial rationality.
In addition, the Minister said the schedule is being coordinated to hold the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Joint Committee early next year as a follow-up to the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations. The Joint Committee is expected to continue discussions on nontariff barriers, including agricultural products, platforms and intellectual property rights.
As a measure regarding the dispute over construction costs related to nuclear power plant exports between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and Korea Electric Power Corporation, the Minister said, "We are conducting a study, and based on this, we will overhaul the nuclear power export governance and announce it early next year."