South Korea denied a report that Seoul and Washington had discussed naming semiconductors as Seoul’s first strategic investment in the United States. The presidential office said Tuesday the claim “is not true” and gave no details on any investment talks with Washington. Korea JoongAng had reported Seoul’s planned announcement of a first US investment later this month was uncertain after Washington reportedly sought Korean investment in US memory-chip facilities; the request was said to dominate

South Korea denied a report that Seoul and Washington had discussed naming semiconductors as Seoul’s first strategic investment in the United States. The presidential office said Tuesday the claim “is not true” and gave no details on any investment talks with Washington. Korea JoongAng had reported Seoul’s planned announcement of a first US investment later this month was uncertain after Washington reportedly sought Korean investment in US memory-chip facilities; the request was said to dominate a closed-door trade meeting on Aug. 13. Attendees told the paper Seoul had initially prioritized energy for its first major US investment and viewed investing in US memory-chip plants as unrealistic given commitments by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix of at least $880 billion to build chips and data centers.