Ruling Party Proposes Special Act on US Investment—'Hopes for Active Cooperation from People Power Party on Bill Passage'

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Da Ye On – A special act aimed at implementing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed following the South Korea-US trade negotiations was submitted to the National Assembly on the 26th.

The "Special Act for Strategic Investment Management between South Korea and the United States" outlines concrete measures for executing a $350 billion strategic investment in the United States. (For details, refer to Yonhap Infomax's exclusive report on the 25th: "South Korea to Establish Korea-US Strategic Investment Corporation—Capital of 3 Trillion Won, 20-Year Limited Organization.")

Funding for the strategic investment will be raised through the Korea-US Strategic Investment Fund, and a Korea-US Strategic Investment Corporation will be established as a temporary entity for up to 20 years to manage the fund. The corporation's statutory capital will be 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion), with contributions from the government and other entities.

With the bill's submission, the government plans to notify the United States, after which the US is expected to announce in its official gazette that automobile tariffs will be retroactively reduced from 25% to 15%.

Heo Young, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, told reporters after submitting the bill at the National Assembly, "Given the national significance and the strategic investment under the South Korea-US alliance, we expect and request the People Power Party to actively cooperate in passing this bill."

Although the chair of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, which will review the bill, is Lim Yi-ja of the People Power Party, raising the possibility of a challenging review process, the Democratic Party aims to secure bipartisan support for the bill's passage.

Heo added, "The committee chair has never expressed opposition or an intention to block the special act simply because she is from the People Power Party. We expect constructive cooperation and smooth processing."

Regarding the possibility of designating the bill as a fast-track (expedited agenda) item, Heo said, "We are not considering that at this time," and added, "No specific timeline has been set for the bill's passage."

He emphasized, "The National Assembly will conduct a thorough and meticulous review of the special act. If there are any provisions that could harm the national interest, we hope both parties will work together to ensure the bill is as robust as possible before passage."

Heo also explained, "The bill carefully incorporates commercial rationality, investment limits, and safeguards in case of impacts on the Korean foreign exchange market, as outlined in the fact sheet."

d​yon@yna.co.kr

(End)