US Issued an Executive Order on Addressing US Investments in Countries of Concern

The US government issued an executive order on August 9 on regulating US investments in cutting-edge technology sectors in countries of concern for the purpose of preventing the investments from constituting threats to the national security of US and its allies by enhancing military and intelligence capabilities of countries of concern.

The executive order targets investments made by US persons in companies of countries of concern engaged in specific technology fields of advanced semiconductor, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing industrial technologies, which will later be defined in regulations by the US Department of the Treasury. It covers investments made through methods such as private equity funds, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), establishment of new corporations (Green-Field Investment), and joint ventures. The targeted investments are categorized into Notifiable Transactions and Prohibited Transactions based on the specific technology fields.

As the regulations on the US outbound investments will be applied to investments to be made, with its scope limited to US individuals and corporations, the anticipated impact on Korean industries is marginal. However, the Korean government will continue to closely analyze the effects on our economy and will deliver views of the government and relevant industries to the US government if necessary.

Please refer to the attached files.