Seoul protested U.S. Alaska LNG announcement, says investment remains under review

South Korea says it agreed only to review Alaska LNG, not commit more than $50 billion to build it. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Thursday that he protested to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after White House officials presented the financing as settled and Alaska's delegation celebrated it as a commitment.

At Wednesday's Oval Office event, Lutnick described three Korean energy projects totaling just under $200 billion as "fully paid for by the Korean government," with "just over $50 billion" of it for Alaska LNG, according to the transcript. Alaska's delegation and Gov. Mike Dunleavy then issued a joint statement celebrating a $54 billion Korean investment. Sen. Lisa Murkowski called it South Korea's commitment to invest $54 billion to build the gas line.

The joint U.S.-South Korean fact sheet released Thursday says the two countries "have agreed to commence working on the Alaska LNG project, subject to meeting commercial reasonableness" under their 2025 investment agreement "and all applicable domestic legal requirements." It contains no dollar figure for Alaska LNG. South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, in its own Korean-language release, describes the agreement as a decision to begin reviewing the project and to decide later whether to proceed.

Kim said the three sentences about Alaska LNG in the fact sheet are the entire agreement, and that the investment amount and definitive language in the U.S. presentation went well beyond it. He said he raised a strong objection with Lutnick on Thursday morning, and that Lutnick replied that he understood South Korea's concern and would do his best to see the project done properly, according to Newsis's report on his briefing. Kim also said that as of the end of last year, his government's basic judgment was that it was hard to say the project was commercially viable.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung wrote on X that Alaska LNG would move to "working," using the English word from the fact sheet, only if its commercial viability is confirmed and it complies with South Korea's legal procedures, KBS World reported. Kim said Lee was quoting the English text of the joint fact sheet.

The fact sheet does give Alaska LNG a formal place in the two countries' strategic investment program. It says the United States will help Korean suppliers take part and "intends to provide assurances, to the extent possible," of LNG purchase agreements at economically viable prices, with priority access for South Korea. The Korean ministry's release adds that the United States would cut tariffs on materials such as steel if the project goes forward.

The fact sheet treats a $22.3 billion gas-fired power plant in Encinal, Texas, differently, saying it was assessed to meet the commercial reasonableness standard. The Korean ministry calls it the first official project under the program and says it has completed the commercial-viability review and the domestic procedures the law requires, including review by oversight committees and a report to the National Assembly. Neither document describes such approval for Alaska LNG.

Trump tied the Korean investments to his tariff agreement with Seoul, saying U.S. tariffs on South Korean goods were reduced to 15 percent in exchange for investment commitments. He also urged voters to reelect Sen. Dan Sullivan. Sullivan, a Republican who won the seat in 2014 and was reelected in 2020, faces Democrat Mary Peltola in the Nov. 3 election.

Sullivan said important work remained but called the announcement the most consequential step yet toward construction. Murkowski said she looked forward to learning more about the timing of South Korea's investments. Rep. Nick Begich said the vision of unlocking Alaska's gas was closer to reality than ever before.

In a video the White House posted Thursday, recorded after Wednesday's Oval Office meeting, Dunleavy said South Korea is "providing a lot of funding for this, upwards of $50 billion plus." Sullivan said the Korean investments, "over $50 billion," had been signed by the U.S. and South Korean presidents the week before, and that they offer a solution to the project's long-standing challenge of how to finance the pipeline.

The project would carry North Slope gas about 800 miles to Southcentral Alaska for in-state use and export through a terminal in Nikiski. Glenfarne owns 75 percent of the venture and the state owns 25 percent through the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. Alaska LNG has not reached a final investment decision, the point at which sponsors commit financing and authorize construction.

Alaska News reported Wednesday that South Korea had not committed to the project and that it remained subject to a commercial review.

Korean-language sources in this story, including the industry ministry's release, Newsis's report on Kim's briefing and President Lee's post on X, were translated by AI.