[COVER STORY] Korea-US $200 bil. investment talks hit last-stage hurdles over 'commercial viability'

Korea’s talks with the United States over a $200 billion investment package have hit last-stage hurdles, with commercial viability emerging as the key sticking point. President Lee Jae Myung said some provisions remain hard to accept, even as the two sides keep negotiating. Disputes center on nuclear reactors, energy projects and funding terms, and the Industry Ministry has delayed a parliamentary briefing. The timing of the first memorandum of understanding now depends on progress in the talks.

The Industry Ministry postponed a parliamentary briefing that had been scheduled for Thursday, and it is now expected Monday or Tuesday depending on the negotiations.

The proposed nuclear project in the United States involves six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors and two Korean-designed APR1400 units.

The U.S. side is reportedly reluctant to include the APR1400 units, while Korea has sought a roughly 20 percent stake in Westinghouse with board representation and voting rights.

The proposed first investment project in Texas is the Encinal natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, with an estimated cost of about $22.3 billion.

The U.S. side has reportedly sought about $10 billion to be transferred by the end of the year, compared with roughly $2.2 billion Seoul had earlier considered sending this year.

Published Sep 20, 2026 11:54 am KST

Nuclear, energy issues complicate talks, delay 1st project

Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, left, shakes hands with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during the G20 Innovation Ministerial Meeting in Chapel Hill, N.C., Sept. 2. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources

Korea’s negotiations with the United States over a $200 billion investment package have run into last-stage hurdles, with the two sides disagreeing over nuclear reactors, energy projects and funding terms.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources postponed a parliamentary briefing initially scheduled for Thursday, which had been expected to clear the way for signing of a memorandum of understanding for the first project as early as Friday. The briefing is now expected to take place Monday or Tuesday, although the timing will depend on progress in the negotiations.

President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged that some provisions remained difficult to accept despite the negotiations being close to an agreement.

“After reviewing the details, there are parts that are not easy to agree to,” Lee said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. “We are discussing them again.”

Lee said the investment negotiations had broad, complex implications for Korea-U.S. relations and that disagreements emerged as the talks moved into specific projects.

“There were several points of contention during the initial agreement process. Once we began discussing the specific investments, 'commercial viability' became an issue again,” the president said.

Lee stressed that commercial viability would be a key principle in deciding which projects to pursue. “We will pursue only projects with commercial viability,” he said. “National interest is truly important.”

A graph generated by ChatGPT

One of the key sticking points is a proposed eight-reactor nuclear project in the U.S. Seoul has been seeking a mix of six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors and two Korean-designed APR1400 units. The U.S. side is reportedly reluctant to include the Korean-designed reactors, despite the APR1400 having received U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission design certification, clearing a key regulatory hurdle.

The APR1400 issue is closely tied to Seoul’s push for a larger stake and greater management rights in Westinghouse. Korea has reportedly sought a roughly 20 percent stake, along with board representation and voting rights, while the U.S. side is understood to favor a smaller, nonvoting stake of about 5 to 10 percent.

The dispute is significant as Korea wants the investment package to create opportunities for its nuclear technology and companies, while the U.S. has an interest in maintaining a strong role for Westinghouse and its AP1000 technology.

“(The U.S.’ opposition) could be part of its negotiating strategy,” an industry official said on condition of anonymity. “Building the APR1400 had been under discussion for quite some time, but after the Korean side began moving to increase its stake in Westinghouse and secure board voting rights, opposition to the APR1400 began surfacing.”

The source said the two APR1400 units remain crucial to Seoul in reaching an agreement. “I understand that it would be difficult for us to sign the agreement without building the two APR1400 reactors,” the official said. “Signing the agreement does not mean that it will immediately be carried out … Details need to be worked out internally afterward. As far as I understand, nothing has been decided in detail.”

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Another emerging issue is a reported U.S. proposal for Korean investment in pyroprocessing, a method of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Washington is seeking investment in facilities that could process spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants, raising questions over whether the project would fit within the $200 billion framework and how it would relate to broader nuclear fuel-cycle discussions.

Beyond nuclear power, the first investment project itself remains a point of contention. The proposed Encinal natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Texas has emerged as a leading candidate, with an estimated cost of about $22.3 billion.

The plant is intended to supply electricity to large-scale customers such as artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor facilities, but securing sufficient power demand remains a concern. The project’s cost has also risen from earlier estimates, raising questions in Seoul about its commercial viability. Before committing funds, Seoul is seeking greater certainty over power demand, investment terms and the project’s profitability.

A view of the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City / Courtesy of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power

The Alaska liquefied natural gas project has also resurfaced as a possible component of the investment package after fading from earlier discussions, although questions over the project's large upfront infrastructure costs and long-term profitability linger.

International trade professor Kim Tae-hwang of Myongji University said the continued delay suggested the negotiations may involve issues beyond individual investment projects.

“It seems that a tug-of-war is taking place, with broader Korea-U.S. trade negotiations and security issues intertwined with the strategic investment talks,” he said.

Another issue is the timing of the initial payment. The U.S. side has reportedly sought about $10 billion to be transferred by the end of the year, roughly half of the $20 billion annual investment limit. That would be well above the roughly $2.2 billion that Seoul had earlier considered transferring this year.

The Industry Ministry said it remains in close consultations with Washington and that it needs more time to find common ground.

“We are continuing to discuss the remaining issues, and it is taking some time to narrow down the points of contention,” the ministry’s official said. “As negotiations approach the final stage, it is natural for things to become more difficult.”

韩国与美国就2000亿美元投资计划的谈判陷入僵局，商业可行性成为关键症结所在。韩国总统李在明表示，尽管双方仍在继续谈判，但一些条款仍然难以接受。争议焦点集中在核反应堆、能源项目和融资条款等方面，韩国产业通商资源部已推迟原定的国会简报会。首份谅解备忘录的签署时间目前取决于谈判进展。

工业部推迟了原定于周四举行的议会简报会，现在预计将在周一或周二举行，具体取决于谈判情况。

美国拟建的核电项目包括六座西屋 AP1000 反应堆和两座韩国设计的 APR1400 机组。

据报道，美方不愿将 APR1400 单元纳入其中，而韩国则寻求获得西屋电气约 20% 的股份，并拥有董事会席位和投票权。

德克萨斯州拟建的第一个投资项目是恩西纳尔天然气联合循环发电厂，预计耗资约 223 亿美元。

据报道，美方希望在年底前转移约 100 亿美元，而首尔此前考虑今年转移的金额约为 22 亿美元。

发布于2026年9月20日上午11:54（韩国标准时间）

核能和能源问题使谈判复杂化，导致第一个项目延期。

9月2日，在北卡罗来纳州教堂山举行的二十国集团创新部长级会议上，韩国产业通商资源部部长金正宽（左）与美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克握手。图片由韩国产业通商资源部提供。

韩国与美国就2000亿美元投资计划进行的谈判在最后阶段遇到了障碍，双方在核反应堆、能源项目和融资条款方面存在分歧。

贸易、工业和资源部推迟了原定于周四举行的议会简报会。此次简报会原本预计将为最早于周五签署首个项目谅解备忘录铺平道路。简报会现预计将于周一或周二举行，但具体时间将取决于谈判进展。

李在明总统承认，尽管谈判已接近达成协议，但有些条款仍然难以接受。

李在周五于首尔青瓦台举行的新闻发布会上表示：“在仔细审查了细节之后，我们发现有些部分难以达成一致。我们正在再次进行讨论。”

李表示，投资谈判对韩美关系有着广泛而复杂的影响，随着谈判深入到具体项目，分歧也随之出现。

“在最初的协议签订过程中，存在几个争议点。一旦我们开始讨论具体的投资项目，‘商业可行性’又成了一个问题，”总统说。

李强调，商业可行性将是决定推进哪些项目的关键原则。“我们只会推进那些具有商业可行性的项目，”他说。“国家利益至关重要。”

由 ChatGPT 生成的图表

其中一个关键症结在于美国拟建的八座核反应堆项目。首尔方面一直寻求采用六座西屋AP1000反应堆和两座韩国设计的APR1400反应堆的组合方案。据报道，尽管APR1400反应堆已获得美国核管理委员会的设计认证，扫清了关键的监管障碍，但美方仍不愿将韩国设计的反应堆纳入该项目。

APR1400事件与首尔方面力求获得西屋电气更大股份和更多管理权密切相关。据报道，韩国方面寻求约20%的股份，以及董事会席位和投票权，而美方则倾向于持有约5%至10%的较小股份，且不享有投票权。

这场争端意义重大，因为韩国希望通过投资方案为其核技术和公司创造机会，而美国则希望保持西屋公司及其AP1000技术的强大地位。

一位不愿透露姓名的业内人士表示：“（美国的反对）可能是其谈判策略的一部分。APR1400的建造计划已经讨论了一段时间，但自从韩方开始增持西屋电气股份并获得董事会投票权后，反对APR1400的声音就开始出现。”

消息人士称，这两台APR1400机组对于首尔达成协议至关重要。“我理解，如果不建造这两台APR1400反应堆，我们很难签署协议，”这位官员说。“签​​署协议并不意味着它会立即执行……细节还需要后续内部商讨。据我了解，目前还没有做出任何具体决定。”

韩国总统李在明周五在首尔青瓦台举行记者会并发表讲话。（韩联社）

另一个新出现的问题是，据报道美国提议韩国投资热解工艺，这是一种乏核燃料后处理方法。华盛顿方面正在寻求投资建设能够处理美国核电站乏燃料的设施，这引发了人们的疑问：该项目是否符合2000亿美元的预算框架，以及它将如何与更广泛的核燃料循环讨论联系起来。

除了核能之外，首个投资项目本身仍存在争议。拟建于德克萨斯州的恩西纳尔天然气联合循环发电厂已成为主要候选项目，预计耗资约223亿美元。

该电厂旨在为人工智能数据中心和半导体工厂等大型用户供电，但能否确保足够的电力需求仍令人担忧。此外，项目成本也高于此前的预估，这引发了首尔方面对其商业可行性的质疑。在投入资金之前，首尔方面希望在电力需求、投资条款和项目盈利能力方面获得更大的确定性。

全南光州特别广域市韩比特核电站一景 / 图片由韩国水力核电公司提供

阿拉斯加液化天然气项目在早期的讨论中销声匿迹后，如今又重新成为投资方案的一个可能组成部分，尽管该项目庞大的前期基础设施成本和长期盈利能力仍然存在疑问。

明知大学国际贸易教授金泰煌表示，谈判的持续拖延表明，谈判可能涉及除单个投资项目之外的问题。

他说：“看来双方正在展开一场拉锯战，更广泛的韩美贸易谈判和安全问题与战略投资谈判交织在一起。”

另一个问题是首笔款项的支付时间。据报道，美方希望在年底前转移约100亿美元，约占200亿美元年度投资限额的一半。这将远高于首尔此前考虑今年转移的约22亿美元。

工业部表示，仍与华盛顿方面保持密切磋商，需要更多时间寻求共同立场。

该部官员表示：“我们仍在讨论剩余问题，缩小争议点需要一些时间。随着谈判接近尾声，情况变得更加困难也是自然而然的。”