Korea finance minister confirms $2.4bn first US investment remittance
In short
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il confirmed that $2.4 billion was sent to the United States on October 1 as the first tranche of South Korean investment there, answering a lawmaker's question at a National Assembly audit on October 6. The money is part of “Project Star,” a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant of 6.472 gigawatts for AI data centers in the Ensinal area of Texas, with total project cost of about $22.3 billion. Lee said the Texas plant meets commercial rationality requirements, while the Alaska LNG “Project North” is only at the start of a review stage.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il confirmed on October 6 that $2.4 billion was sent to the United States on October 1 as the first payment under South Korea's investment commitments there. He gave the confirmation at the National Assembly Finance and Economy Planning Committee audit in Yeouido, Seoul, when opposition People Power Party lawmaker Lim I-ja asked whether the $2.4 billion had been remitted on October 1 after Korea and the United States jointly published fact sheets on September 30 and October 1. According to Yonhap and SBS News, Lee answered “yes.” Both outlets said this was the first time the government officially confirmed the payment. [ 1 , 4 ]
Korea and the United States confirmed “Project Star” on October 1 as the first project: a 6.472 gigawatt gas combined-cycle power plant for artificial intelligence data centers in the Ensinal area of Texas. The total project cost is about $22.3 billion, so slightly more than 10 percent of the funding was sent shortly after the agreement. [ 1 , 4 ]
Lim questioned the procedure, saying that if commercial viability is judged to exist only a prior report is required, but if it does not exist National Assembly consent must be obtained, and that no such discussion took place. Lee responded that the fact sheet was drawn up after all National Assembly reporting procedures were completed, and said the Texas power plant's commercial rationality “has been met,” as reported by Yonhap and SBS News. [ 1 , 4 ]
On “Project North,” the Alaska LNG development, Lim said Korea and the United States are sending conflicting messages over a scale of $54 billion. Lee replied that the government is speaking according to what is in the fact sheet, and said the project is at the stage of beginning a review, with commercial viability still to be assessed. He said the government plans to continue reviewing it in a direction that raises commercial viability, according to Yonhap, SBS News and a Chosun Ilbo summary. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Newsis filed photographs of Lee and First Vice Minister Kwon Dae-young at the same audit but no substantive account of his remarks, while Yonhap, SBS News and Chosun Ilbo all reported on the session. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The confirmation is the first official acknowledgment that money has moved under the joint Korea-US investment framework, moving the arrangement from a signed fact sheet to an executed payment. It also puts the government's handling of the deals under parliamentary scrutiny, with a lawmaker questioning whether prior consent was required. The size of the Alaska LNG project remains unresolved, leaving a large part of the framework still open.
Key facts
- Lee Hyung-il confirmed that $2.4 billion was remitted to the United States on October 1 as the first US investment payment. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Korea and the United States confirmed “Project Star” on October 1 as the first project: a 6.472 GW gas combined-cycle power plant for AI data centers in the Ensinal area of Texas. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The total project cost is about $22.3 billion, meaning roughly 10 percent was sent shortly after the agreement. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Lee said the Texas power plant project “meets” commercial rationality, and that the fact sheet was drawn up after National Assembly reporting procedures were completed. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Lee said “Project North,” the Alaska LNG development, is at the stage of starting a review and that its commercial viability must still be assessed. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Lee attended the National Assembly Finance and Economy Planning Committee audit at Yeouido, Seoul, on October 6. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il confirmed $2.4 billion was sent to the United States on October 1. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Korea and the United States designated the Texas gas combined-cycle power plant “Project Star” as the first project, with capacity of 6.472 GW for AI data centers, at a total cost of about $22.3 billion. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Lee said the Texas plant satisfies commercial rationality and that National Assembly reporting procedures were completed before the fact sheet was issued. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Lee said the Alaska LNG project is at the start of a review stage and that its commercial viability still has to be examined. [ 1 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- The scale of “Project North,” the Alaska LNG development, is given as $54 billion by a lawmaker, while Lee would only say the government speaks according to the fact sheet. A single lawmaker cited the $54 billion figure and described conflicting messages between Seoul and Washington; no document states that $54 billion is the agreed amount.
- Whether the Texas investment required prior National Assembly consent is disputed. Opposition lawmaker Lim I-ja said no such discussion took place if commercial viability is absent, while Lee said reporting procedures were fully followed; the documents do not resolve which procedure applied.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Korea and the United States jointly announce fact sheets and confirm “Project Star,” the Texas gas power plant, as the first project; $2.4 billion is remitted to the United States the same day. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Lee Hyung-il attends the National Assembly Finance and Economy Planning Committee audit at Yeouido, Seoul. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Yonhap reports the finance minister's confirmation that the $2.4 billion was sent. [ 1 ]
- Newsis and Chosun Ilbo publish their reports on the audit remarks. [ 2 , 3 ]
- SBS News publishes its report on the confirmation. [ 4 ]