Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said in connection with the first project under the $350 billion investment in the United States that "the energy sector seems to be drawing very high interest," adding, "there is a lot of discussion in the United States about how to produce electricity cheaply."
Deputy Prime Minister Koo gave this answer to a question from James Kim, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), at a meeting hosted by AMCHAM at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan District on the — "there are concerns about the $350 billion investment pledge in the United States; how can the project be carried out?"
Deputy Prime Minister Koo also addressed representatives from U.S. energy corporations such as Chevron and ExxonMobil who attended the meeting, saying, "If you have a good item, please submit a proposal to the U.S. government," and added, "First persuade the U.S. government, and if the two countries cooperate, it can yield commercial results."
Regarding his strong expression of dissatisfaction over the U.S. Department of Commerce's delay in selecting the first project for investment in the United States, he said, "There is truly no such thing as intentionally slowing it down." He added, "We are actively working with the U.S. government to prepare, as quickly as possible, something that can benefit both Korea and the United States."
Korea and the United States adopted a "Joint Fact Sheet (JFS)" centered on a $350 billion investment in the United States and lowered the tariff from 25% to 15% at the summit held in Gyeongju in Oct. last year. Of that, $150 billion was decided to be invested in shipbuilding, but the destination for the remaining $200 billion has not been determined even now, 10 months later.
Deputy Prime Minister Koo assessed the $950 billion cooperation agreement reached between Korean and U.S. corporations in San Francisco as "evidence that Korea is promising as a key hub in the global AI supply chain." He also introduced the "3-4-5 vision," which aims for a 3% potential growth rate, top four in the world in exports, and per capita national income of $50,000, naming as supporting pillars three mega projects: semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI.