South Korea-US Energy Investment Plan Tops $100B

South Korea could announce a South Korea-US energy investment plan worth more than $100 billion as early as next week. The investment would support US artificial intelligence infrastructure and data-centre power demand under a wider trade agreement reached in October. Seoul previously pledged $350 billion in US investment and agreed to buy an additional $100 billion in American energy products. The agreement also reduced most US tariffs on South Korean goods, including cars, from 25% to 15%. The latest proposal includes up to eight US nuclear power plants and a 6.3-gigawatt combined-cycle gas plant in Encinal, Texas. The gas project’s estimated cost has risen from $16.8 billion to $22.3 billion, while US officials reportedly sought as much as $25 billion. The nuclear programme is estimated at about $120 billion, putting the combined value near $142.3 billion. This would represent roughly 71% of South Korea’s planned $200 billion cash investment in the US, deployed over 20 years with an annual cap of $20 billion. The South Korea-US energy investment plan remains under negotiation. Key issues include construction costs, water infrastructure, locations, schedules and ownership of the investment vehicle. South Korea’s trade ministry said the reports were not final, and US nuclear projects have not been approved. For crypto traders, the story is mainly a neutral macro and infrastructure development. It could influence energy stocks, data-centre demand and Korean-US trade sentiment, but it has no direct catalyst for major cryptocurrency prices.