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2026-09-18 12:38:09
【Lee Jae-myung: $350 Billion Investment Negotiations Between South Korea and the United States Keep Me Up at Night, Delays Draw US Dissatisfaction】 (1) South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said that negotiations between South Korea and the United States on projects related to the $350 billion investment commitment have kept him up at night. (2) He had previously discovered unacceptable clauses in a nearly finalized agreement, which led to the reopening of negotiations. “I myself have been losing sleep over this because it is a very important matter,” Lee said at a press conference on Friday. (3) The above remarks highlight the challenges Seoul faces in implementing the investment agreement reached with the Trump administration last year; both sides are working to identify the first projects under the agreement. (4) Due to the delays in the relevant progress, the US government is dissatisfied, and President Trump suddenly reduced the scale of the joint military exercises between the US and South Korea last month. (5) Lee Jae-myung said that South Korea will only proceed with projects that are deemed commercially viable; Seoul insisted on including this condition in the agreement after “very difficult” negotiations with Washington.
