Trump says South Korea to invest $200 billion in U.S.

The U.S. announced plans for up to $200 billion in South Korean investment, though Seoul has yet to finalize the participation in the Alaska LNG project.

On March 12, 2025 President Trump announced that South Korea could commit as much as $200 billion in new U.S. investments, spanning nuclear power, natural gas generation and the Alaska LNG project. Korea Electric Power Corp said it will build two 1.4‑gigawatt pressurized water reactors in Texas, valued at roughly $28 billion. SK Innovation plans a $15 billion gas‑to‑liquids plant in Louisiana, while Korea Gas Corporation is negotiating a 10 % equity stake in the Alaska LNG venture. The total figure remains aspirational; only about $8 billion of definitive agreements have been signed to date.

The Louisiana GTL plant will add three gigawatts of baseload power to the Gulf Coast grid, a region that supplies roughly 20 % of the nation’s electricity. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie estimate that extra capacity could shave wholesale power prices in that area by 4‑6 % during peak summer months. For a typical household using 1,000 kilowatt‑hours per month, that translates to a saving of about $3‑$5 on the monthly electric bill. The effect would be felt as soon as the plant reaches commercial operation, slated for late 2027.

South Korea’s overseas investment push accelerated after the 2022 Russia‑Ukraine war, when Seoul sought to diversify its energy imports and secure long‑term LNG supplies. In 2021 the country pledged roughly $60 billion for U.S. infrastructure under the Biden administration’s Build Back Better framework, but most of those commitments stalled due to regulatory delays. The current $200 billion figure ties directly to the incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax credits for nuclear and clean‑hydrogen projects that Korean firms are eager to capture. Insiders say Seoul views the deal as a way to offset growing trade friction with China while bolstering its own industrial base.

South Korea’s Economic Policy Committee is scheduled to vote on finalizing the Alaska LNG stake on June 20, 2025, a decision that will lock in the first tranche of funding. Simultaneously, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will release its environmental impact statement for the Louisiana GTL plant on July 15, 2025, which could affect construction timelines. If both approvals go forward, the first concrete cash flow from the $200 billion pledge could arrive as early as Q4 2025. Surprisingly, despite the headline $200 billion figure, less than 5 % of the amount has been backed by binding contracts, meaning most of the pledge remains contingent on future negotiations.