South Korea-based ecommerce company Coupang Inc. paid US$250,000 to Ballard Partners to lobby the Trump administration and Congress from April to June, up from US$170,000 in the first quarter, according to a disclosure filing.

The filing said the lobbying covered US export promotion, international economic policy, investment flows, and efforts to strengthen commercial ties with key trading partners.

Ballard Partners is a US lobbying firm with ties to the Trump administration, and its foreign-interest business has grown since Trump took office.

The spending follows action by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission.

In June, the regulator announced its largest-ever data penalty against Coupang, totaling more than US$400 million, and referred the company for criminal prosecution over alleged evidence destruction.

On July 1, the US House Judiciary Committee released a report accusing South Korea of unfairly targeting American-owned businesses, including Coupang. Seoul rejected the claim.

🔗 Source: The Korea Herald

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