White House Teases Economic Announcement for Oct. 1; South Korea's Alaska LNG Project Seen as Likely Topic

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a joint announcement event with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at 3:30 p.m. on the 30th local time. The announcement is highly likely to concern South Korea's investment plans in the United States.
The White House announced on the 29th that Trump would hold a joint announcement event with Lutnick in the Oval Office at that time. No specific topic was disclosed. In Korea, the announcement will take place at 4:30 a.m. on October 1.
Before the White House announcement, U.S. media outlets reported, citing officials, that Trump was expected to announce South Korean investment projects in the United States on the 30th. They claimed that the announcement would include a $54 billion investment, or approximately 73 trillion won, in the Alaska LNG development project in the State of Alaska.
Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who represents the State of Alaska, Republican Representative Nick Begich, and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy are expected to attend the announcement.
The South Korean government said in a report to the National Assembly on the 22nd that it would pursue construction of the Encinal gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Texas as the first project under its $200 billion strategic investment plan in the United States.

Unlike the Texas power plant, the Alaska LNG project mentioned by U.S. media has been classified as a matter for future consultations. The construction of eight large-scale nuclear power plants in the United States is also included among the projects requiring consultation.
The Alaska LNG project is a large-scale undertaking to transport natural gas from the North Slope southward through a pipeline spanning approximately 1,300 kilometers and then liquefy it. The Trump administration plans to sell LNG from Alaska to Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan. In Alaska, where the midterm elections are approaching in November, incumbent Senator Sullivan is in a close race with the Democratic candidate. If the LNG project is finalized, it is highly likely to benefit Sullivan and the Republican Party.


[email protected] Jong-won Park Reporter