(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporters Lee Dae-hee, Kim Soo-hyun, Ahn Chae-won, and Song Jeong-eun = Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hyung-il confirmed that $2.4 billion was remitted to the United States on the 1st of this month as the first investment in the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee answered "Yes" when People Power Party lawmaker Lim Jae asked, "Was $2.4 billion remitted (to the U.S.) on October 1st after Korea and the U.S. jointly announced the fact sheets on September 30th and October 1st, respectively?" during the audit of the National Assembly's Finance and Economic Planning Committee on the 6th.
On the 1st, Korea and the United States confirmed 'Project Star' as their first project to build and operate a gas combined cycle power plant for an artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a capacity of 6.472 gigawatts (GW) in Encinal, Texas.
Approximately 10% of the total project cost of approximately $22.3 billion was transferred immediately after the agreement, and Deputy Prime Minister Lee's remarks on this day were the first time the government officially confirmed this fact.
Representative Lim pointed out, “If it is judged to be commercially viable, it is a preliminary report, but if not commercially feasible, the consent of the National Assembly must be obtained, but there has been no such discussion at all.”
Deputy Prime Minister Lee then emphasized, “We included it in the fact sheet after going through all the National Assembly reporting procedures.” Regarding the commercial rationality of the Texas power plant project, he explained, “I think it has been satisfied.”
Rep. Lim pointed out that the investment money was remitted immediately even though the strategic investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) stipulated that the time of remittance was 'at least 45 business days from the date of notification of investment selection' and asked, "Is there an error in the wording of the MOU?"
In response, Deputy Prime Minister Lee acknowledged the error, saying, "There was that aspect," but emphasized, "We continued discussions within 45 days from the beginning."
When Rep. Lim asked, "Are you signing the MOU without reading it?" Deputy Prime Minister Lee explained, "There was no reason for us to point out that part. If we and the United States reach an agreement, we can send it quickly."
In the subsequent legally binding operating contract negotiations, the US side strongly insisted on 'within 45 business days', but Korea pushed through '45 business days' based on the favorable MOU language, meaning that it prevented the designation of a remittance date earlier than 45 business days.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee drew a line at Rep. Jeong Tae-ho's point from the Democratic Party of Korea that there was a request from the United States to first remit $10 billion by December 31 in relation to the $120 billion nuclear power plant construction project called 'Project Power', saying, "Commercial rationality must be verified and all procedures under National Assembly and domestic law must be completed."
He added, “The $2.4 billion is related to the Texas power plant mentioned earlier, not project power.”
When Rep. Lim pointed out that South Korea and the United States are sending conflicting messages regarding the $54 billion project 'Project North' (Alaska LNG development), Deputy Prime Minister Lee refuted, "We are talking about what is in the fact sheet."
He drew the line that the review of the commercial rationality of this project has now begun and that no decision has yet been made on whether to invest.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee emphasized, "It is difficult to tell about the specific details of the discussion as it is confidential," but added, "In any case, it will be discussed within the $200 billion limit (the investment limit agreed upon during the tariff negotiations)."
Regarding the plan when commercial rationality falls short, he said, “It is difficult to answer based on assumptions,” and added, “We will work to negotiate with the United States and accept more conditions so that commercial rationality can increase.”
