South Korea Aims to Unveil First US Investment Project in August or September, Kim Says

South Korea’s presidential office plans to announce its first US investment project in August or September.

Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, said on KBS’s Sunday Diagnosis on July 19 that officials are preparing to make the first investment in the US a reality soon. “We should have to announce it in August or September,” he said.

Talks with Washington on the investment plan are continuing. Kim said Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan has been traveling to the US frequently and will visit again soon to continue discussions.

South Korea and the US agreed on a joint fact sheet following a summit last year. It included a project for South Korea to invest a total of $200 billion in the US, with an annual cap of $20 billion.

The US has pressed the South Korean government through multiple channels as implementation of the investment plan slowed. Full-scale talks between the two sides began in the first half of this year.

Deliberations in the National Assembly over a special law on US investment and procedures to establish the Korea-US Strategic Investment Corp., or KUIC, affected the pace of consultations. The two sides have also continued to tug over what constitutes commercial reasonableness.

A personal data leak at Coupang has also emerged as a variable in US-South Korea relations. The US side has argued that American companies are being discriminated against, raising concern that the alliance between Seoul and Washington could come under strain.

The US House Judiciary Committee has also issued a report arguing that the South Korean government was unfairly targeting Coupang.

South Korean Ambassador to the US Kang Kyung-wha returned temporarily to Seoul on July 15 and conveyed the mood in Washington, according to the report. The trip was also understood to be aimed at seeking responses to pending bilateral issues including Coupang and US investment.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has taken issue with a fine imposed on Coupang by the Personal Information Protection Commission. It has also raised concerns about a Fair Trade Commission investigation related to Coupang and a proposed amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act.

Asked about speculation that US-South Korea ties were facing a warning sign, Kim rejected that view. Washington also understands that the investment plan is moving ahead on an appropriate schedule, he said.

Noh Jung-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com