By Tom Ramage
Q3 2026 U.S.-South Korea Trade and Investment Ledger
“Project Star” commits USD 22.3 billion to a gas-fired power plant in southern Texas, and “Project Power” sets a framework for up to USD 120 billion to build eight nuclear reactors across four states.
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On September 30, the United States and South Korea announced the first investments under their strategic investment memorandum of understanding (MOU). “Project Star” commits USD 22.3 billion to a gas-fired power plant in southern Texas, and “Project Power” sets a framework for up to USD 120 billion to build eight nuclear reactors across four states. A decision on “Project North,” a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline in Alaska, is still pending.
Equally significant were the billion-dollar-plus commitments throughout the quarter. They included tech and AI infrastructure deals born out of the San Francisco AI Summit in July, equity investments by Korean companies in U.S.-based technology and energy companies, and investment by U.S. companies in Korea to support semiconductor production and energy systems.
Defense-industrial cooperation is also expanding. On September 21, Hanwha Aerospace announced a USD 2.2 billion investment in a munitions facility in Arkansas. This followed an August announcement that Hanwha would provide K9 Mobile Howitzer prototypes for the U.S. Army. Earlier, in July, Hanwha Philly Shipyard was selected to build missile range instrumentation vessels for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency in support of the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, days before the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center opened in Washington, DC.
The last quarter of the year will show whether this momentum in defense, energy, and technology continues, whether the Project Power reactors clear Korea’s plant-by-plant commercial viability review, and whether outstanding commitments, including Project North, move from announcement to implementation.
Tom Ramage is a Fellow and Economic Policy Analyst at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI). The views expressed here are the author’s alone.
This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.