Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan meets with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Thursday (local time). [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan meets with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Thursday (local time). [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

South Korea has selected a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant construction project as its first investment initiative in the United States. The project is part of a $200 billion US investment commitment agreed upon last year under a tariff deal between the two countries, with a formal announcement expected as early as the end of next month.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has settled on the gas-fired combined-cycle power plant as the first project under the US investment plan and is in final coordination with the US Department of Commerce, according to industry sources Tuesday.

South Korea and the United States agreed last year, on the sidelines of a bilateral summit, to a joint fact sheet that included a plan for South Korea to invest a total of $200 billion in the US at an annual cap of $20 billion.

The project is expected to mark the first concrete step in carrying out that investment commitment. The government is pushing to announce the first US investment project between August and September. Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reporters at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday that consultations with the US side on selecting the first project were "almost at the final stage," and that a decision was expected by the end of August or in September.

If bilateral consultations proceed without a hitch, the project could clear a review by the Korea-US Strategic Investment Steering Committee as early as next month before the investment intent is formally conveyed to a US investment committee. Final approval by US President Donald Trump would then confirm it as South Korea's first US investment project.

The government's choice of a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant as its first investment target reflects the rapid surge in US electricity demand and the need to secure commercial viability from the outset.

The rapid expansion of AI data center construction in the United States has made building out power infrastructure an urgent priority.

Nuclear power plant construction was also considered at an early stage, but gas-fired combined-cycle plants were favored because their shorter construction timelines allow for a more timely response to fast-growing US power demand, sources said.

A gas-fired combined-cycle power plant burns LNG and other fuels to drive a gas turbine in a first stage, then uses the resulting high-temperature exhaust to generate steam that drives a second steam turbine. The process is more efficient and produces less fine particulate matter than conventional thermal power plants.

If the project secures a long-term supply agreement to deliver electricity from the plant to AI data centers and other consumers in the United States, the Korea-US investment fund could expect relatively stable returns.

In addition, the government is planning support measures to help South Korean companies enter the US market en masse in a "Team Korea" format, rather than limiting the initiative to a simple financial investment. However, the government declined to disclose specific details of the project.

"The government is in close consultation with the US side regarding the US investment project, but the specific details of the first project and its announcement schedule have not yet been determined," a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official said.


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