South Korea Transfers $2.4 Billion for Texas AI Energy Project

South Korea has transferred $2.4 billion to Washington to help fund a large energy project in Texas, Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il confirmed Tuesday during a parliamentary audit.

The payment represents about 10 percent of the estimated cost of Project Star, a planned gas-fired combined-cycle power plant designed to supply artificial intelligence data centers. The facility is expected to have generating capacity of 6,472 megawatts and an overall price tag of $22.3 billion. Lee said the money was sent last Thursday.

The transfer marks a concrete step in Seoul’s broader investment initiative with the United States. South Korea unveiled the commitment last year in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs, with $150 billion allocated to shipbuilding cooperation and another $200 billion earmarked for projects in strategic sectors.

Lee addressed questions about whether the Texas investment would require parliamentary approval. He said Project Star had met the test for commercial viability after opposition lawmaker Lim Lee-ja argued that legislative consent would be needed if the project lacked a viable commercial basis.

The confirmation brings fresh attention to how South Korea will evaluate and finance its large overseas investment commitments. The Texas project links the rapid growth of AI computing with rising demand for electricity, while also forming part of a much wider package tied to industrial and trade relations between Seoul and Washington.

Lee also discussed a separate proposal known as Project North, which would examine construction of a pipeline and liquefied natural gas terminal in Alaska. He said that proposal remains under review and that its commercial viability still needs to be assessed.

The U.S. administration has said South Korea would invest $54 billion in the Alaska LNG project as part of a broader $200 billion commitment to U.S. energy projects. Seoul’s industry ministry, however, has emphasized that no final investment decision has been made and that commercial and other conditions must first be reviewed.

The proposed Alaska development includes a 1,298-kilometer pipeline running from gas fields on the North Slope to southern Alaska, where the fuel would be liquefied for export to Asian buyers. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Washington and Seoul still need to settle details, while voicing confidence that the project would move ahead.

For now, the Texas payment distinguishes Project Star from the still-pending Alaska proposal and shows that at least one major component of South Korea’s U.S. investment package has moved into the funding stage.