On September 30, 2026, US President Donald Trump announced at the White House the first projects under South Korea's commitment to invest up to 200 billion dollars in US energy infrastructure, alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Senator Dan Sullivan. Trump called the package "one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in American history". Three initiatives were unveiled: a gas-fired power complex in Texas, a framework for eight nuclear reactors, and a possible Korean role in the Alaska LNG project.
The only project confirmed to construction level is "Project Star": a 22.3 billion dollar combined-cycle gas power campus in Encinal, La Salle County, Texas, with 6.47 gigawatts of generating capacity. The joint announcement by the US Department of Commerce and the Government of the Republic of Korea names Related Companies, through its Related Digital affiliate, and NextEra Energy Resources as developers, with Lewis Energy Group providing land, natural gas, water and supporting infrastructure. At full scale the campus will support a privately funded 5 gigawatt data center campus that Related Digital is developing next door, while delivering surplus generation back to the ERCOT grid — a structure aligned with Governor Greg Abbott's directive that data centers bring their own power. The Commerce fact sheet, as reported by Yonhap, puts commercial operations in phases from 2029 and full-capacity operation in 2032; the press release cites about 8,400 jobs at peak construction and roughly 170 permanent positions. According to a senior South Korean official cited by the Korea Herald, Seoul transferred the first 2.4 billion dollar payment under the investment program on Thursday.
The second initiative, "Project Power", is a blueprint rather than a construction commitment. It envisages up to 120 billion dollars for eight large nuclear reactors — two Korean-designed APR1400 units and six Westinghouse AP1000s — with about 100 billion dollars for construction costs and 20 billion in contingency reserves, capped at 30 billion dollars per pair of reactors including reserves. The two governments, Westinghouse, Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power are expected to sign a framework agreement which, the Commerce fact sheet says, will not authorize construction of all eight reactors: sites, ownership structures and schedules remain undecided, with Ohio and Tennessee identified by US officials and South Carolina and Kentucky also mentioned by Lutnick. The countries also agreed to cooperate on an advance payment of up to 10 billion dollars by year-end for components with long manufacturing lead times, subject to commercial review and Korean legal and parliamentary procedures. If built, the APR1400 units would be the first Korean-designed commercial reactors in the United States; Korean investors, including KEPCO and KHNP, are separately pursuing a combined stake of at least 5 percent but below 10 percent in Westinghouse, with pricing still under negotiation.
"Project North" — Korean participation in the Alaska LNG project, whose roughly 1,298-kilometer pipeline would carry about 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas per day from the North Slope to Nikiski and produce up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually — is the most contested piece. Lutnick put investment in the project at more than 50 billion dollars; Reuters, cited by CNA, reported a 54 billion dollar figure for the pipeline. The joint fact sheet, however, says only that the two countries "have agreed to commence working on the Alaska LNG project, subject to meeting 'commercial reasonableness' under the Strategic Investment memorandum of understanding and all applicable domestic legal requirements". Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told a briefing that no decision had been made on whether to invest or on the size of the investment, that he had expressed regret to Lutnick over an announcement that went beyond what had been agreed, and that Seoul "will not proceed if it is not viable". President Lee Jae Myung wrote on X that the commercial viability of both the LNG project and the nuclear reactors must be confirmed before either moves forward. The project's developer, Glenfarne, has lined up preliminary commitments for 13 million tonnes a year — including a combined 2 million tonnes from Japan's JERA and Tokyo Gas — and needs roughly 3 million tonnes more to support a final investment decision.
The energy push sits inside a broader bargain. Last year's trade deal, announced on July 30, 2025, lowered US tariffs on most Korean goods to 15 percent from 25 percent in exchange for a 350 billion dollar package — 150 billion for shipbuilding and 200 billion for strategic investments — formalized in a Strategic Investment MOU signed on November 14, 2025. Under the operating agreement, returns are pooled in an umbrella special-purpose company: 50/50 until Seoul recovers its total principal plus interest calculated off 20-year US Treasury yields and a project-specific margin, then 10 percent to Korea and 90 percent to the US. The annual cap of 20 billion dollars and the overall cap of 200 billion are legally binding, and Korea keeps financial reporting and consent rights over major changes. For Seoul, the strategic rationale is energy security — Kim cited supply-route risks along the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, the Taiwan Strait and the Panama Canal — plus a foothold in US gas power and nuclear markets. For Washington, it is electricity for AI data centers and a larger nuclear build-out, announced, as CNA noted, ahead of November's midterm elections.
The limits are material. The 200 billion dollar headline is a ceiling, not a cheque: only Project Star is confirmed, the nuclear program still needs a framework signature and separate commercial assessments and Korean approvals for each project, and Alaska remains conditional on commercial tests Seoul has not yet passed. Analysts in Seoul told Reuters that any gap between the two sides' readings of the deal could feed disputes over implementation, with the framework agreement and the year-end advance payment for nuclear components as the first tests.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Commerce and the Government of the Republic of Korea, joint announcement on Project Star (via PR Newswire), September 30, 2026: prnewswire.com
- Yonhap News Agency, "Trump unveils S. Korea's investment plans for Alaska LNG project, Texas power plant, 8 nuclear reactors", October 1, 2026: en.yna.co.kr
- The Korea Herald, "Korea kicks off US investment plan with $22.3b Texas power project", October 1, 2026: koreaherald.com
- Channel News Asia (Reuters), "Trump unveils US$200 billion South Korean investment in US; Seoul hedges on Alaska pipeline", September 30, 2026: channelnewsasia.com
