South Korea names $23.2 billion Texas power plant under U.S. investment pledge

South Korea’s $350 billion U.S. investment pledge now has a named potential first project: a proposed $23.2 billion combined-cycle gas plant in Encinal, Texas, that would supply nearby AI data centers and semiconductor factories, according to lawmakers briefed by the government and reported by The Korea Herald.

South Korea and the United States pledged to speed implementation of Seoul’s investment commitments, part of a trade agreement exchanging investment in American manufacturing for lower tariffs on Korean imports, according to Reuters. The agreement, struck last year, called for tariffs on Korean imports to fall to 15%.

South Korea named the Encinal plant in parliamentary briefings on Sept. 22, the Herald reported. If the decision is confirmed, it would become the first U.S. project to draw South Korean capital under the trade deal.

The push followed Friday talks in Washington between South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Cho also reaffirmed Seoul’s willingness to contribute to restoring free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

President Lee Jae Myung has said South Korea would approve only investments that meet its commercial-viability criteria. A special law governing the package allows investment without parliamentary consent when commercial viability is proven, requiring briefings for relevant parliamentary committees instead.

Lawmakers from both major parties said the government had described the Texas project as commercially viable. Opposition lawmaker Bae June-young nevertheless said his party’s members raised concerns about whether contracts had been finalized and documents secured to protect the initial investment capital, according to the Herald.