The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 10th that Minister Kim Jung-kwan visited Washington, D.C., from the 6th to the 9th local time and discussed strategic investment projects in the United States.
On the 8th, the Minister met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and explained the status of Korea's follow-up legislation and implementation framework after the passage of the Special Act on Investment in the United States. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said, "The two sides held in-depth consultations on the direction for promoting concrete strategic investment projects in the United States, based on project concepts discussed so far, focusing on areas of mutual interest such as shipbuilding and energy."
The Special Act on Investment in the United States includes the establishment of the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for $350 billion in strategic investment agreed to in November last year. Observers say the official announcement of the first investment, the "Project No. 1," will come after the special act takes effect in June and the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation is launched.
The government plans to revise enforcement decrees and other laws and review candidate investment projects with the United States. Currently, leading candidates for Project No. 1 include an energy infrastructure project such as building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Louisiana and constructing new nuclear power plants.
Building on this meeting, MOTI and the U.S. Department of Commerce signed an MOU on the "Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative." Through this, the two countries agreed to establish the "Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center" in Washington, D.C., within the year. The center will support local network building, sharing of policy trends, and cooperation between the two countries' corporations.
It will also support efforts to improve productivity at U.S. shipyards and operate workforce training programs. The project will run through 2028, led by the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, with the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association participating. This year's budget is 6.6 billion won.
Of the total $350 billion in U.S.-bound investment pledged by Korea, $150 billion will be invested in the shipbuilding sector.
Kim also met with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House, and requested U.S. government support so that Korea's "MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) project" can move forward. With Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Kim reviewed cooperation in the energy sector, including nuclear power, and agreed to strengthen collaboration.