The South Korean parliament has passed a bill, making the $350 billion investment in the United States official.
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On the 12th, South Korea’s National Assembly passed special legislation to provide a legal basis for Seoul’s $350 billion investment plan promised to Washington, marking the transition of this major economic agreement—aimed at securing preferential US tariffs—into a substantive implementation phase.
According to Global Times on the 11th, as the Middle East situation abruptly escalates and international oil prices and exchange rates fluctuate violently, South Korea’s National Assembly is accelerating arrangements for the $350 billion US investment package.
According to this law, the South Korean government will set up a dedicated investment company fully funded by the state to coordinate and implement the above investment plan. This comes as Washington continues to ramp up its trade pressure—according to CCTV News, the US Supreme Court overturned tariffs imposed by the White House under the “International Emergency Economic Powers Act.” Subsequently, the US Trade Representative (USTR) swiftly retaliated, announcing a new round of “Section 301” investigations covering most major trading partners, with a focus on pharmaceuticals and technology industries.
The passing of this legislation is Seoul’s proactive response amid intensifying trade friction with the US. Analysts believe that establishing an independent investment entity can help South Korea demonstrate its sincerity in fulfilling its promises to Washington and strive for more favorable terms in bilateral tariff negotiations. However, given that US trade investigations are still ongoing, the outlook for South Korean exports remains uncertain.
$350 Billion Investment Framework: Shipbuilding and Strategic Industries in Focus
According to the US-South Korea trade agreement reached in July 2025, Seoul agreed to invest $350 billion in the US in exchange for a 15% tariff rate. The special bill just passed will ensure the implementation of this commitment at the institutional level.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the newly established national investment company will be dedicated to advancing the investment plan, with all required funding provided by the government.
In terms of investment composition, the plan includes $150 billion for the shipbuilding sector and $200 billion for strategic industry projects, the latter to be advanced in batches with an annual cap of $20 billion.
Trump’s Prior Pressure Accelerated Legislation
The acceleration of this legislative process is closely related to Trump’s continued pressure on South Korea. According to a WallstreetCN report, the US announced on Wednesday the launch of “Section 301” investigations against 16 trading partners including South Korea.
In January this year, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, criticizing the South Korean parliament for failing to fulfill the agreement with the US and threatening to raise tariffs on Korea from 15% to 25%. “The South Korean parliament has not fulfilled its agreement with the US,” Trump wrote in his post.
Against this backdrop, last month the US Supreme Court overturned most of Trump’s tariff measures, after which Trump reimposed a 10% tariff citing Section 122. South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Kim Jung-kwan, reportedly said in February, “Although the above verdict increases uncertainty for exports to the US, the overall export conditions established by the US-South Korea tariff agreement will largely remain unchanged.”
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