Major deals span aerospace, shipbuilding, nuclear energy, and critical minerals in South Korea
Companies in South Korea have pledged $150 billion in U.S. investments across key industries including shipbuilding, nuclear power, aerospace, energy and critical minerals. The announcement came during Monday’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The commitments build on South Korea’s role as one of the largest investors in the U.S., with officials noting the figure amounts to nearly six times last year’s foreign direct investment. The plans include both new projects and expansions of previously announced ventures such as Samsung Electronics’ Texas chip factory and Hyundai’s Georgia auto plant.
Alongside the private-sector pledges, both nations agreed to work on a non-binding framework for a $350 billion investment fund announced by Seoul in July. The fund is tied to a trade deal that cuts threatened U.S. tariffs on South Korean goods.
Aerospace: Record aircraft deal with Boeing and GE
Korean Air announced its biggest-ever purchase, signing a $36.2 billion deal to acquire 103 Boeing aircraft. It also sealed a $13.7 billion agreement with GE Aerospace for engines and maintenance services. This order comes on top of an earlier deal in March for up to 50 Boeing jets and GE engines.
Hyundai Motor Group: Expanding U.S. footprint
Hyundai Motor Group said it will increase its U.S. investment commitment to $26 billion between 2025 and 2028, up from $21 billion. Plans include a new steel mill in Louisiana, expanding Hyundai and Kia’s U.S. auto production, and building a robotics hub capable of producing 30,000 units annually.
Shipbuilding: Boosting U.S. maritime capacity
President Trump announced that the U.S. will partner with South Korea to revive American shipbuilding. HD Hyundai and Korea Development Bank signed a deal with U.S. firm Cerberus Capital to create a multibillion-dollar joint fund to strengthen U.S. maritime capacity.
Separately, Samsung Heavy Industries and Vigor Marine Group signed a preliminary agreement covering maintenance of U.S. Navy support ships, shipyard modernisation and joint vessel construction.
LNG: Securing U.S. energy supply
Korea Gas Corp reached long-term contracts to import 3.3 million tonnes of U.S. liquefied natural gas annually for 10 years beginning in 2028. Supply will come from U.S. exporters including Cheniere.
Nuclear Energy: Small reactors and advanced projects
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Doosan Enerbility partnered with U.S. firms X-energy and Amazon Web Services to develop small modular reactors and related supply chains.
Doosan also struck an agreement with Fermi America to supply equipment for a Texas-based AI-linked SMR project. KHNP and Samsung C&T will join Fermi in its construction, while KHNP also agreed with Centrus on uranium enrichment investments.
Critical Minerals: Strengthening supply chains
Korea Zinc signed a long-term deal with Lockheed Martin to supply germanium starting in 2028 and expand rare metals cooperation.
$350 Billion Strategic Fund: Still under discussion
Beyond the corporate commitments, Seoul’s $350 billion fund remains in planning. Officials described it as a “non-binding” financial package aimed at boosting industries such as chips, batteries, quantum computing, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals.
The summit reinforced South Korea’s growing role in U.S. supply chains, from energy and defence to high-tech manufacturing.
with inputs from Reuters
