U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo speaking at a cabinet meeting. AFP Yonhap News

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated on the 2nd (local time) that South Korea will use a portion of the promised investment amount to the United States under the South Korea-U.S. tariff agreement for the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S.

At a cabinet meeting held at the White House that day, Secretary Raimondo said regarding the total investment of $750 billion from Japan and South Korea (Japan $550 billion, South Korea $200 billion) that "for example, we will start with nuclear power."

Secretary Raimondo stated, "We must have a nuclear arsenal of generation of power for electricity generation in the United States. So we will build it with hundreds of billions of dollars funded by Japan and South Korea."

This is interpreted to mean that a portion of the investment funds from South Korea and Japan will be prioritized for the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S.

Previously, the U.S. specified the construction of large-scale nuclear power plants and small modular reactors (SMRs) as specific projects in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on investment signed with Japan.

President Lee Jae-myung also directly announced the resolution of the South Korea-U.S. negotiations on the 14th of last month, stating, "The two countries will build a cooperative partnership on a different level than before, ranging from traditional strategic industries such as shipbuilding and nuclear power to future advanced industries such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors."

According to the MOU on U.S. investment signed by South Korea and the U.S., the total U.S. investment of $350 billion consists of $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperative investment, including our companies' foreign direct investment (FDI), guarantees, and ship financing.

The profit distribution from the investment will be split 50/50 between South Korea and the U.S. until the principal and interest are repaid. After the principal and interest are repaid, this ratio will change to 1 (South Korea) to 9 (U.S.).

Secretary Raimondo said, "We will build here and divide the cash flow 50/50," adding, "We will build ships in the United States with $150 billion."

Secretary Raimondo's remarks came as cabinet members attending the cabinet meeting took turns introducing their achievements.

On this day, President Trump stated that before he imposed tariffs, other countries, including allies, were extorting money from the U.S., and pointed to South Korea and Japan as such countries.

He said, "I won't name names. I won't mention Japan. I refuse to mention Korea," adding, "I won't name names, but they ripped us off at a level nobody has ever seen, and they have terribly used your country, but now we are making a lot of money because of the tariffs that are pouring in."

Yonhap News