US Pressing Seoul to Expand Investment Beyond Promised $350 Billion: Lawmaker

South Korea's trade ministry has told lawmakers that Washington is pushing for an investment commitment larger than the $350 billion Seoul already pledged under the countries' tariff and trade arrangement, a National Assembly member said Tuesday, citing a ministry briefing.

The disclosure adds a new wrinkle to negotiations that have dragged on since late 2025, when South Korea agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States in return for Washington lowering its reciprocal tariffs on Korean goods. That package was split into a $200 billion fund for strategic industries and a separate $150 billion commitment to the US shipbuilding sector.

According to the lawmaker, the latest round of talks on the $200 billion strategic-industry portion centered on three large US energy projects: a natural gas plant in Texas, a nuclear reactor program, and a natural gas pipeline in Alaska. The combined price tag the US side is seeking for all three projects reportedly exceeds the entire $200 billion envelope Seoul had set aside, forcing negotiators to consider trimming the list or reshuffling how much goes to each project.

"Negotiators are making last-minute adjustments on whether to fund only two of the three projects, or to resize the investment in each," the lawmaker said, describing the state of play as fluid just days before a planned signing.

The South Korean government is aiming to wrap up the negotiations quickly, with a closed-door briefing for the National Assembly tentatively set for next Thursday and a possible signing ceremony with US officials as early as the following Friday. The tight timeline underscores pressure on Seoul to lock in the tariff relief before further demands emerge, even as the scope of the investment commitment appears to keep growing.

The episode highlights a recurring pattern in the bilateral economic relationship this year, in which the initially announced $350 billion figure has repeatedly proven to be more of a starting point than a ceiling. Businesses and policymakers in Seoul are watching closely to see how much additional exposure Korean state and private capital will ultimately take on in US energy infrastructure as the deal is finalized.