South Korea launches company to manage $350 billion US investment pledge

South Korea has launched a state-backed investment corporation to manage a $350 billion investment pledge in the US, as part of a trade deal aimed at lowering tariffs.

South Korea launched a state-backed company ​on Thursday to help ​implement a $350 billion investment pledge ‌in the ​United States, the centrepiece of a trade deal Seoul agreed with Washington in return for lower tariffs. The ‌Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation will manage and operate a strategic investment fund, after a special act governing the investments took effect, South Korea's finance ministry said.

Park Jong-won, ‌a former deputy minister for trade, was appointed its first chief. "The corporation ‌is a dedicated body to systematically promote investment cooperation between South Korea and the United States at a time of great transformation, when a new economic order is taking shape," ⁠Park ​said.

"We will do ⁠our utmost to strengthen industrial cooperation between the two countries in strategic sectors agreed by ⁠both sides, including energy and shipbuilding." The corporation will help implement the broader $350 billion package, ​comprising $200 billion in strategic investments in advanced industries and other areas, and $150 ⁠billion in shipbuilding investments led by South Korean companies, according to the law governing the body.

Projects ⁠will ​be reviewed for their commercial viability, including whether they can generate enough cash flow to repay principal and interest, under South Korea's special ⁠act and related implementing rules. Potential projects include LNG and energy infrastructure, as well as ⁠advanced materials and ⁠battery supply chains, according to local media reports.

South Korean officials have said, however, no projects have been finalised and ‌negotiations with ‌Washington were continuing.