The government investigates the truth of Trump's statement about $8.4 billion in oil investment in Korea, saying, "There was no agreement."

“The only agreement between the two countries is what is stated in the fact sheet and press release.”

“We have inquired with the U.S. through normal channels.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Chang-yong = In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement on the 1st (local time) that Korea would invest $8.4 billion in oil-related projects, our government began to investigate the truth, saying it was not included in the ROK-U.S. strategic investment agreement.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a phone call with Yonhap News that day, "All that has been agreed between the two countries regarding strategic investment is what is stated in the joint fact sheet and press release," and "We have currently inquired with the United States (about the contents of the announcement) through trade channels."

This is interpreted to mean that the two countries are understanding the circumstances under which the failure to reach an agreement was made public.

President Trump wrote on the social media site TruthSocial on this day, “Negotiations with Korea continue to improve,” and “$8.4 billion for the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project.”

EOR refers to a technology to recover additional remaining crude oil by injecting carbon dioxide or gas into existing oil fields with reduced production to increase internal pressure.

However, the Korea-US joint fact sheet released by the Korean and US governments on the 1st did not contain any information related to the project. The two countries agreed to promote the construction of the Encinal gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Texas, USA, as their first investment project in the United States, and to undergo additional discussions in the future on the construction of eight large nuclear power plants and the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project.

Accordingly, there is speculation that President Trump may have insisted on the United States' position without prior coordination between the two countries, just as he did when announcing the Alaska LNG development project.