South Korea passes bipartisan U.S. Investment Act to back tariff deal

South Korea’s president, Lee Jae-myung, said on March 12 that he deeply appreciated the National Assembly for passing the Special Act on U.S. Investment. He spoke at a meeting of senior presidential aides at Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential complex in Seoul.

The president described the passage as a meaningful example of bipartisan resolve on national tasks, stressing that party lines should not stand in the way of important policy decisions.

In a Facebook post, he said the law provides the legal and institutional basis to implement the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement and that the two countries will build a stronger cooperative framework in strategic industries. He also pledged that the government would push ahead with preparations for the law’s implementation and related follow-up measures.

Lee noted that recent regional tensions in the Middle East and broader global economic uncertainty have heightened unpredictability in international affairs. He said the passage of the special act could help Korean companies weather challenges and spur more active investment and cooperation.

Context for international readers: Cheong Wa Dae, or the Blue House, is the official executive office and residence of South Korea’s president, while the National Assembly is Korea’s unicameral parliament. The “Special Act on U.S. Investment” refers to a law aimed at facilitating investment-related measures in relation to the United States, tied to how the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement is implemented.

For U.S. readers, the development matters because it signals a formal, cross-party push to strengthen economic and regulatory alignment with Washington. By underpinning the tariff agreement with a legal framework, the move could influence bilateral supply chains, cooperation in high-tech and other strategic industries, and broader investment flows between the two allies at a time of global volatility.