South Korea is preparing to announce a U.S. energy investment project worth more than $100 billion to support artificial intelligence development, with plans that include up to eight nuclear power plants and a natural gas project, according to the South Korean government.

The proposed package centers on U.S. energy infrastructure that would underpin AI development. The plan is potentially valued at more than $100 billion and includes funding for as many as eight nuclear power plants as well as a natural gas project. The agreements are described as close to finalization and could be announced as early as next week.

The planned announcement comes alongside a broader U.S.-South Korea economic arrangement outlined by the South Korean government. Last October, Donald Trump and Lee Jae-myung reached an agreement to reduce most tariffs to 15% from 25%, including tariffs affecting South Korea’s auto sector. In return, South Korea committed to invest $350 billion in the United States and to purchase an additional $100 billion of American energy.

The available details do not yet clarify how the more than $100 billion energy package relates to the separate $100 billion U.S. energy purchase commitment, or how much of the broader $350 billion investment pledge overlaps with the planned projects. The structure of the nuclear buildout, the location of the projects, and the identities of the operating or financing parties have also not been disclosed.

The announcement fits a wider policy push by South Korea to back AI and semiconductor development. South Korean policymakers have recently framed AI, data center infrastructure, and chips as strategic priorities, making energy supply a more central part of industrial planning as AI systems require larger and more stable power capacity.

Why It Matters

This matters because it links trade policy, energy security, and AI infrastructure in a single cross-border package. Large AI buildouts increasingly depend on reliable electricity, and this deal suggests governments may play a bigger role in securing the power base behind future data center expansion.

It also broadens the market focus beyond chips and models to the physical infrastructure supporting AI growth. If more countries tie industrial policy to long-duration power assets such as nuclear and gas, that could reshape capital allocation, strategic partnerships, and the policy framework around AI-related investment.