U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on the 2nd (local time) that South Korea would invest 8.4 billion dollars (approximately 11.3 trillion Korean won) in a petroleum-related project through U.S.-South Korea negotiations.
Trump posted on Truth Social that day, writing, “I am pleased to announce that negotiations with South Korea are getting better” and “an Enhanced Oil Recovery Act project worth 8.4 billion dollars.” This is interpreted as South Korea agreeing to invest 8.4 billion dollars in the project. The Enhanced Oil Recovery Act refers to technology that injects carbon dioxide, etc., into oil fields to increase crude oil production.
Trump added, “Increasing oil and gas production signifies U.S. energy hegemony and future global energy security.”
However, Trump did not specify on that day what the project exactly means or what specific agreements the U.S. and South Korea reached regarding the project.
Reuters and others analyzed, “This is the latest example of a series of economic and investment agreements Trump is emphasizing ahead of the midterm elections,” and “an attempt to strengthen his achievements amid voters’ concerns over the Iran war and high oil prices.”
Trump previously unilaterally announced South Korea’s investment projects in the U.S., including the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development, at the White House Oval Office on the 30th of last month. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan stated in a briefing on the 1st, “The Alaska project was agreed upon by the U.S. and South Korean governments only under the premise of commercial viability,” and “expressed regret to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for going beyond the agreement.”
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