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Hyundai Motor Company has begun construction of an electric vehicle plant in the United States amid controversy over the Inflation Reduction Act, an IRA that subsidizes only electric vehicles made in the United States.

However, there have been several interpretations of Treasury Secretary Yellen's statement that the inflation-reducing law would be enforced by law.



Correspondent Yunsu Kim from Washington.



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Hyundai electric car-only plant to be built in Bryan County, Georgia, USA.



It will be completed in 2025 and the first construction has started with the goal of producing 300,000 units per year.



[Eui-sun Chung / Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group: A 14 trillion won investment in electric vehicle factories and other U.S. companies will advance the realization of electrification and our strong commitment to the region.]



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The governor of Georgia, two U.S. senators, and the deputy secretary of commerce were also in attendance.



However, there was no mention of discrimination against Korean electric vehicles.



Ambassador Cho Tae-yong, who attended as a representative of the Korean government, urged the swift resolution of the problem, saying that the inflation reduction law could adversely affect response to climate change by limiting consumer choices as well as Korea-US cooperation.



Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she was well aware of South Korea's concerns and would consider them, but said the law should be enforced as it was written.



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However, President Yoon Seok-yeol explained that this interpretation is different from the position of the US government.



[President Seok-Yeol Yoon: It seems to be a little different from the general position of the US government.

Let's wait a little bit longer.]



The US Treasury Department is planning to prepare detailed enforcement rules for the IRA bill at the end of the year after receiving opinions by the 4th of next month. It is known that the submission of comments asking for the enforcement of the law to be deferred until then is being considered.



(Video editing: Won Yang)