(2nd LD) Seoul, Washington pick Texas power plant as 1st project under strategic investment

This will let Google show Yonhap news articles that match or are related to your search

(ATTN: ADDS details throughout, last photo) By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have formally selected a gas-fired power plant project in Texas as the first project under Seoul's US$350 billion investment commitment to the U.S., the industry ministry said Thursday.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced the three projects, including the Texas plant, after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in November last year, under which South Korea pledged to invest in the U.S. in return for lower U.S. tariffs on Korean imports.

The formal announcement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (U.S. time) announced South Korea's investment plans at the White House.

The investment will comprise $150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation and $200 billion for projects in various strategic sectors.

"As taxpayers' money will be injected into the initiative, we have placed top priority on the commercial viability of the projects and the national interest to ensure that not a penny goes to waste," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reporters during a briefing.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan speaks during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2026, to brief parliament on the first investment project under South Korea's investment commitment to the United States. (Yonhap)

"We held consultations with the U.S. side while carefully examining the profitability and risks of each project, the prospects for recovering the investment and opportunities for South Korean companies," Kim added.

The gas-fired combined-cycle power plant project in Texas, dubbed "Project Star," calls for the construction of a 6,472-megawatt power plant for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers at a cost of $22.3 billion.

The Texas plant, located in Encinal in the southern part of the state, is scheduled to begin the first phase of commercial operations in 2029, with full operations targeted for 2032.

The industry ministry said the project is being led by reputable companies, including Related Companies, the world's ninth-largest real estate developer, and NextEra Energy, the largest power plant operator in the U.S.

"Through Project Star, the two countries will jointly address growing energy demand in the U.S. amid the expansion of the AI data center industry. The project will create a new model for economic security cooperation in strategic areas such as AI and energy infrastructure," the industry ministry said.

South Korea also announced "Project Power," under which Seoul will spend up to $120 billion to build eight nuclear reactors, including two units of South Korea's homegrown APR1400 reactor, through a bilateral framework for cooperation in the nuclear energy industry.

The industry ministry said the project will involve $100 billion in construction costs and a $20 billion contingency fund.

The project also seeks to enable South Korean companies to acquire stakes in U.S. energy firm Westinghouse and share in its profits, with the detailed terms to be worked out among the companies involved.

The government is in talks with the United States to allow Korean companies, including state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., to acquire a stake of between 5 percent and 10 percent in Westinghouse, according to the industry ministry.

"The two sides are considering a stake of less than 10 percent, as Westinghouse is not in favor of having Korean companies represented on its board," the minister said.

"Korean companies are keen to acquire a stake in Westinghouse because they see the strategic investment as helping them make inroads into the U.S. nuclear reactor market and other global markets," he said.

The ministry, however, noted that the framework provides only broad guidelines and that the two countries have not yet agreed on specific nuclear reactor projects, with details to be discussed later.

Seoul additionally unveiled "Project North," which centers on reviewing the possible construction of a pipeline and a terminal for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in Alaska.

Seoul and Washington plan to review the project's commercial viability before deciding whether to proceed, although U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed South Korea is moving to invest more than $50 billion in the Alaska LNG project alone.

"The U.S. went beyond what we had agreed to regarding the Alaska LNG project. The two sides agreed to begin work on the project, subject to commercial reasonableness under the MOU and all applicable domestic legal requirements," he clarified.

This illustration depicts negotiations between Seoul and Washington over Seoul's investment commitment to the United States. (Yonhap)

The industry ministry, meanwhile, said the projects will include safeguards to protect South Korea's investments.

Under the structure, all projects under the strategic investment initiative will be carried out through an umbrella Investment Special Purpose Vehicle (I-SPV) and separate Project Special Purpose Vehicles (P-SPVs) established for each project.

The projects will also be subject to a risk-pooling arrangement, under which the proceeds from all individual projects will be divided equally between South Korea and the United States until Seoul recovers the total principal and interest on its investments.

The interest rate used for the calculation will be based on the yield on 20-year U.S. Treasury bonds plus a spread to be agreed upon by the two countries for each project.

South Korea and the United States also reached a legally binding agreement under which investments will not exceed $20 billion annually or $200 billion in total.

If the viability of a project is deemed to have been impaired, the two countries may hold consultations on adjustments to its business plan, budget and profit-sharing ratio.

"The latest projects are not merely about implementing last year's tariff agreement," Kim said.

"It is significant that South Korea and the United States are combining their respective strengths to open a new era of industrial cooperation in areas directly linked to their future industries and economic security, including energy, AI, nuclear power and LNG," Kim added.

"The projects are not merely about investing and recouping funds but will provide opportunities for South Korean companies to expand into global markets, including the United States."

Meanwhile, the South Korean government said U.S. tariffs on Korean goods would not exceed the 15 percent level agreed upon by the two countries, ahead of the expected announcement by the Trump administration on additional tariffs.

"The U.S. side has said it intends to maintain the tariff rate at around 15 percent, whether under Section 301 of the Trade Act or in any other form," Kim said.

South Korea pledged last year to invest a total of $350 billion in the United States in exchange for Washington lowering tariffs on Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent.

In July, however, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced its final decision to impose additional tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on South Korea, Japan and 58 other trading partners under Section 301 over concerns about forced labor.

U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Sept. 30, 2026, in this photo released by UPI. (Yonhap)

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr (END)

(4th LD) Trump unveils S. Korea's investment plans for Alaska LNG project, Texas power plant, 8 nuclear reactors

(LEAD) S. Korea picks Texas power plant as 1st U.S. investment project

(2nd LD) Seoul, Washington pick Texas power plant as 1st project under strategic investment

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

（注：全文及最后一张照片均有补充细节）作者：康允胜

首尔，10月1日（韩联社）——韩国产业通商资源部周四表示，韩国和美国已正式选定德克萨斯州的一个燃气发电厂项目，作为首尔对美3500亿美元投资承诺下的首个项目。

韩国贸易、工业和资源部宣布了这三个项目，其中包括德克萨斯州的工厂。此前，双方于去年 11 月签署了一份谅解备忘录 (MOU)，根据该备忘录，韩国承诺在美国投资，以换取美国降低对韩国进口商品的关税。

此前，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于周三（美国时间）在白宫宣布了韩国的投资计划。

这项投资将包括1500亿美元用于造船合作，以及2000亿美元用于各个战略领域的项目。

“由于这项计划将投入纳税人的钱，我们已将项目的商业可行性和国家利益放在首位，以确保一分钱都不浪费，”产业部长官金正冠在新闻发布会上告诉记者。

2026年9月22日，韩国产业通商资源部长官金正冠在首尔国会全体会议上发言，向国会汇报韩国对美投资承诺下的首个投资项目。（韩联社）

金补充道：“我们与美方进行了磋商，同时仔细审查了每个项目的盈利能力和风险、投资回收前景以及韩国企业的机遇。”

德克萨斯州的燃气联合循环发电厂项目，被称为“星光计划”，计划建造一座6472兆瓦的发电厂，用于人工智能（AI）数据中心，耗资223亿美元。

该德克萨斯州工厂位于该州南部的恩西纳尔，计划于 2029 年开始第一阶段的商业运营，目标是在 2032 年全面投入运营。

工业部表示，该项目由信誉良好的公司牵头，其中包括全球第九大房地产开发商Related Companies和美国最大的发电厂运营商NextEra Energy。

“通过‘星计划’，两国将共同应对美国人工智能数据中心产业扩张带来的日益增长的能源需求。该项目将为人工智能和能源基础设施等战略领域的经济安全合作树立新模式。”工业和信息产业部表示。

韩国也宣布了“电力项目”，根据该项目，首尔将斥资高达 1200 亿美元，通过核能产业合作的双边框架，建造八座核反应堆，其中包括两座韩国自主研发的 APR1400 反应堆。

工业部表示，该项目将涉及1000亿美元的建设成本和200亿美元的应急基金。

该项目还旨在使韩国公司能够收购美国能源公司西屋电气的股份并分享其利润，具体条款将由相关公司协商确定。

据韩国产业通商资源部称，政府正在与美国进行谈判，允许包括韩国电力公司在内的韩国企业收购西屋电气5%至10%的股份。

这位部长表示：“双方正在考虑持股比例低于10%，因为西屋电气不赞成韩国公司在其董事会中占有一席之地。”

他说：“韩国企业热衷于收购西屋公司的股份，因为他们认为这项战略投资有助于他们打入美国核反应堆市场和其他全球市场。”

不过，该部指出，该框架仅提供广泛的指导方针，两国尚未就具体的核反应堆项目达成一致，细节将在以后讨论。

首尔方面还公布了“北方计划”，该计划的核心是审查在阿拉斯加建设液化天然气 (LNG) 管道和终端的可能性。

首尔和华盛顿计划在决定是否推进该项目之前，先审查该项目的商业可行性，尽管美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克声称，韩国仅在阿拉斯加液化天然气项目上就计划投资超过 500 亿美元。

他澄清说：“美国在阿拉斯加液化天然气项目上的做法超出了我们此前达成的协议。双方同意在谅解备忘录规定的商业合理性和所有适用的国内法律要求的前提下，启动该项目的工作。”

这幅插图描绘了首尔与华盛顿就首尔对美投资承诺进行的谈判。（韩联社）

与此同时，产业通商资源部表示，这些项目将包含保障措施，以保护韩国的投资。

根据该架构，战略投资计划下的所有项目将通过一个总括性的投资特殊目的实体（I-SPV）和为每个项目设立的单独的项目特殊目的实体（P-SPV）来执行。

这些项目还将采用风险共担安排，根据该安排，所有单个项目的收益将在韩国和美国之间平均分配，直到首尔收回其投资的全部本金和利息。

计算所用的利率将以 20 年期美国国债收益率为基础，再加上两国就每个项目商定的利差。

韩国和美国还达成了一项具有法律约束力的协议，根据该协议，每年的投资额不得超过 200 亿美元，总投资额不得超过 2000 亿美元。

如果一个项目的可行性被认为受到了损害，两国可以就调整其商业计划、预算和利润分成比例进行磋商。

金说：“最新的项目不仅仅是落实去年达成的关税协议。”

金补充道：“韩国和美国结合各自的优势，在与两国未来产业和经济安全直接相关的领域，包括能源、人工智能、核能和液化天然气等领域，开启产业合作的新时代，这意义重大。”

“这些项目不仅仅是投资和收回资金，还将为韩国企业拓展到包括美国在内的全球市场提供机会。”

与此同时，韩国政府表示，美国对韩国商品征收的关税不会超过两国此前商定的15%的水平，此前特朗普政府预计将宣布加征关税。

金说：“美方表示，无论依据《贸易法》第301条还是其他任何形式，都打算将关税税率维持在15%左右。”

去年，韩国承诺向美国投资总计 3500 亿美元，以换取华盛顿将韩国商品的关税从 25% 降至 15%。

然而，7 月，美国贸易代表办公室 (USTR) 宣布了最终决定，根据第 301 条款，以强迫劳动为由，对韩国、日本和其他 58 个贸易伙伴加征最高达 12.5% 的额外关税。

2026年9月30日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫椭圆形办公室与商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克共同宣布一项消息。这张照片由合众国际社（UPI）发布。（韩联社）

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr (完)

（第四版）特朗普公布韩国对阿拉斯加液化天然气项目、德克萨斯州发电厂和8座核反应堆的投资计划

（导语）韩国选择德克萨斯州发电厂作为其首个美国投资项目

（第二轮）首尔和华盛顿选择德克萨斯州发电厂作为战略投资的首个项目