Coupang Paid $250,000 to Trump-Linked Lobby Firm in Q2, Filing Reveals

E-commerce giant Coupang paid $250,000 in the second quarter to a US lobbying firm with close ties to President Donald Trump, according to a newly surfaced disclosure report filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The document, posted on the US Senate website, shows the payment covered activities between April 1 and June 30.

The firm, Ballard Partners, listed the White House, the House of Representatives and the Office of the US Trade Representative among the targets of its work for the Korean company. The filing said the lobbying touched on US export promotion, international economic policy, investment flows and efforts to deepen commercial ties between Washington and allies including South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Britain and the European Union.

Founded by influential lobbyist Brian Ballard, the Florida-based firm is known for its proximity to Trump. It has reportedly employed figures who went on to senior government roles, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

The disclosure landed at a sensitive moment for Seoul-Washington ties. On July 1, the House Judiciary Committee issued an interim staff report accusing South Korea of "discriminatory attacks" on Coupang and other American companies, arguing that Seoul's treatment of them breached last year's bilateral trade agreement.

A White House official later said Coupang was being "singled out" by the administration of President Lee Jae Myung, voicing concern over what Washington described as discriminatory targeting of the US-listed company. The comments came as South Korean regulators pursue probes into a massive data leak involving Coupang's operations in the country.

South Korea's foreign ministry pushed back, expressing regret over the House committee report and saying it appeared to reflect Coupang's claims in a one-sided way while omitting Seoul's position and the factual information it had provided. The exchange underscores how a corporate data-security case has become entangled in the broader trade friction between the two allies.