The government is fully launching a promotion system to systematically manage U.S.-bound strategic investment projects promised under the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 13th that it held the first Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) implementation committee.
The launch of the committee came as the government signaled its determination to push the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement without a hitch following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a tariff increase last month.
Earlier, Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) visited the United States at the end of last month and met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. At the meeting, Minister Kim shared the legislative plan for the Korea-U.S. strategic investment special act with the U.S. side.
Before the special act passes, the government prepared an interim promotion system through the external economic ministers' meeting on the 10th so that candidate projects can be reviewed. This meeting is the first to fully put it into operation.
The committee will systematically verify the commercial rationality of strategic projects and serve as a single window overseeing consultations with the United States. Under the committee, the project preliminary review team will pool public-private expertise to closely examine each project's economic feasibility, strategic value, and contribution to the national interest, and will conduct working-level consultations with the U.S. side.
Vice ministers from relevant ministries and the heads of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and the Korea Development Bank attended the meeting that day. They shared recent trends in implementing the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement and discussed the review direction and future procedures for candidate Korea-U.S. strategic investment projects.
Minister Kim said, "Through U.S.-bound investment projects, the government will create opportunities for our corporations to secure references in the U.S. market and increase exports of equipment and materials."
He added, "We will secure advanced strategic assets overseas and create opportunities for U.S. advanced technology to be combined with domestic manufacturing capabilities," and said, "All future projects will be reviewed with expertise and transparency under the firm principle of 'national interest first' and the standard of commercial rationality."