200 billion dollar investment in the U.S., terms for recovering principal and interest specified

The government has decided to make the possibility of recovering principal and interest the key criterion when selecting investment projects for the $200 billion U.S. investment plan. The Ministry of Finance and Economy said on the 9th that it approved the related enforcement decree at a Cabinet meeting, and clarified the condition that projected revenues must be sufficient to cover both the investment principal and interest. This measure fleshes out detailed standards following the signing of the investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) between South Korea and the United States last November. Target sectors include shipbuilding, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, energy, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, and the government is reviewing a structure in which up to $20 billion a year would be deployed over 10 to 20 years. The benchmark interest rate is calculated by adding a spread based on project risk to the yield on 20year U.S. Treasury bonds. The government plans to proceed only with projects whose profitability is confirmed under these standards, and a dedicated corporation is also expected to be launched when the special law takes effect on the 18th. However, exchangerate fluctuations, debates over profitability, and the possibility of U.S. tariff pressure are being cited as variables in the future implementation process.