South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is intensifying efforts to secure cooperation from U.S. political and business circles regarding the implementation of the Joint Fact Sheet (JFS) established as part of the Korea-U.S. summit agreement. Amid this, U.S. President Donald Trump is exerting pressure on the South Korean government to invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. The South Korean government expressed regret over unilateral announcements from the U.S. regarding the Alaska LNG project, stating that it is currently reviewing the commercial viability of the investment.
On October 15, Cho attended the 36th Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting held at the FKI Tower conference center in Yeouido, Seoul. In her keynote speech, she stated, "Through continuous communication between the leaders of South Korea and the U.S., we have been concretizing the vision of a future-oriented comprehensive strategic alliance." She added that the recently announced Korea-U.S. strategic investment project serves as an important historical milestone in realizing this vision.
Cho emphasized, "We will accelerate consultations between South Korea and the U.S. to achieve visible results in areas such as shipbuilding and nuclear energy, continuing the positive momentum based on the fact sheet." Earlier, on October 8, she met with U.S. Senator Dave McCormick and the following day with U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland to request their interest and support for the fact sheet.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel also stated at the event, "The commitments in the Korea-U.S. relationship must be upheld," urging that it is time to roll up sleeves and implement the agreements made between President Trump and President Yoon Suk Yeol last November.
While investments between the two countries should proceed according to the agreements outlined in the fact sheet, the rapid pace of the summit discussions has led to controversies over unresolved issues. On October 14, Trump reiterated via Truth Social that South Korea had agreed to invest $50 billion (approximately 67 trillion won) in the Alaska LNG development project as part of trade and investment agreements between the two nations.
The South Korean government has expressed its discomfort regarding this situation. During a National Assembly audit on October 6, Cho stated, "I do not wish to belittle the remarks of an ally's president," explaining that there were aspects that were not agreed upon at the time and that they had planned to establish rationality and procedural completeness later.
Kim Jeong-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, who has been leading negotiations on investments in the U.S., clarified during a National Assembly audit on October 6 that the Alaska LNG investment has not been finalized, stating, "It is still in the review stage based on commercial viability." He also expressed regret to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik, indicating that the U.S. announcement exceeded the scope of their agreements.
As the U.S. midterm elections approach in about three weeks, some analysts suggest that Trump is politically leveraging South Korea to sway public sentiment in Alaska, a traditionally Republican stronghold, as the race between Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and Democratic candidate Mary Peltola is tight in various polls. This has led to speculation that Trump is attempting to aid Senator Sullivan.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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