SEOUL, September 28 (AJP) - Now it is Seoul’s turn to fret and wait.
Washington which had openly pressed Seoul to move faster on its $350 billion investment package has gone quiet since South Korea announced its first proposed project, fueling speculation over the delay.
Formal confirmation of the first project under South Korea’s $200 billion strategic investment commitment to the United States has been held up as Seoul awaits a final selection by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Six days have passed since the Korean government briefed lawmakers on its preferred project.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources told the National Assembly on Sept. 22 that Seoul plans to pursue a $22.3 billion combined-cycle gas power plant in Encinal, Texas, as the program’s first project.
Neither Washington nor Seoul has formally announced the project, despite expectations that a U.S. announcement would follow shortly after the briefing.
South Korean officials say no new dispute has emerged and that working-level consultations between the two countries are effectively complete.
Under the bilateral framework, the U.S. Investment Committee recommends potential projects after consulting with South Korea. The U.S. president then selects an investment target.
Under South Korean law, the Strategic Investment Steering Committee makes the final decision on the investment and its execution after the U.S. selection.
Seoul has done its part of the homework. The next decisive step rests with Washington.
“I spoke with the minister for trade this morning. He said it has been pushed back a little because of circumstances in the United States, including the U.S.-China summit, and that an announcement is likely soon,” Kim Sung-won, chair of the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee and a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party, told AJP.
Kim was referring to Minister for Trade Park Jung-sung, who has led Seoul’s trade negotiations since August.
Without clear explanation, Seoul officials can only assume the delay owes to
Trump’s packed diplomatic schedule.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the United States from Sept. 23 to 25 for a state visit centered on talks with Trump. Trade, technology and other economic and security issues were high on the agenda. The White House said the visit concluded Friday.
With the summit over, Seoul expects Washington to move toward an announcement soon, particularly as Trump seeks economic achievements ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections.
The Federal Election Commission lists Nov. 3 as the date of the 2026 federal general election.
The Encinal project is planned as a 6.3-gigawatt gas-fired power complex to supply electricity to artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor facilities in Texas.
It would be the first concrete deployment under the $200 billion strategic investment portion of a broader $350 billion Korea-U.S. investment package agreed as part of last year’s trade deal. Another $150 billion is earmarked for shipbuilding cooperation. The agreement helped lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean goods to 15 percent.
Seoul and Washington are also discussing the construction of as many as eight large nuclear reactors in the United States. The proposal under discussion includes six reactors using Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology and two using South Korea’s APR1400 design.
South Korea is separately negotiating a possible stake in Westinghouse and continuing talks on potential participation in the Alaska liquefied natural gas project. Neither has been selected as a confirmed investment project.
The government told lawmakers last week that the Texas power project was the first it intended to pursue and that it viewed the investment as commercially viable. Under South Korea’s special law governing the program, projects deemed commercially reasonable must be reported in advance to relevant National Assembly committees.
Investments pursued for national security or supply-chain reasons despite lacking commercial viability face additional parliamentary requirements.
AJP Takeaways
- Seoul is waiting on President Donald Trump to formally select the first project under South Korea’s $200 billion strategic investment commitment after completing working-level consultations with Washington.
- South Korea has proposed a $22.3 billion, 6.3-gigawatt gas-fired power complex in Encinal, Texas, and officials attribute the delayed U.S. announcement largely to Trump’s recent diplomatic schedule, including his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- The Texas project would mark the first deployment of the broader $350 billion Korea-U.S. investment package, while Seoul and Washington are separately discussing up to eight U.S. nuclear reactors, a possible South Korean stake in Westinghouse and participation in the Alaska LNG project.
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