National Assembly passes special act for $350bn investment in the U.S.

A special act on investment in the United States—one of the follow-up measures to the Korea-U.S. tariff talks—passed the National Assembly’s plenary session on the 12th. The bill provides the legal basis for $350 billion (about 518 trillion won) in investment in the U.S. It comes about a month and a half after U.S. President Donald Trump pressured South Korea, citing legislative delays, by threatening to raise reciprocal tariffs on the country from 15% to 25%.

The ruling and opposition parties also passed around 50 bills related to livelihoods at the plenary session that day, including the special act. With its passage, the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation will be established with paid-in capital of 2 trillion won to take charge of investment in the U.S. Funding will be secured through contributions, foreign-currency assets entrusted by the Bank of Korea and the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund, and the issuance of government-guaranteed bonds, among other means. The law will take effect three months after promulgation.

Kim Sang-hoon, a lawmaker of the People Power Party who chaired the National Assembly’s special committee on U.S. investment, said, “Korean companies will have more business opportunities in the United States, centered on strategic investment industries such as shipbuilding, energy, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing.”

Ahn Dae-gyu powerzanic@hankyung.com