Trump’s tariff salvo sends Korea Inc. flocking to Washington’s lobbying circuit

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Trump’s tariff salvo sends Korea Inc. flocking to Washington’s lobbying circuit

Published: 01 May. 2025, 06:00 Updated: 05 May. 2025, 20:07

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Washington lobby graphic [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

Korea's major companies have historically been conservative in directly hiring foreign nationals for lobbying, but the trend has shifted with the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who launched a massive trade war to slash the U.S. trade deficit centered on his "America First" policy.

Positioning their Washington offices within arm’s reach of the White House, conglomerates like Samsung Electronics, SK Group and Hyundai Motor tapped foreign nationals to helm their government relations teams to closely track flip-flopping trade policies under the Trump administration.

With the addition of figures with ties to the administration, expenditures on lobbying efforts have spiked more than 30 percent in a year as the companies seek to mitigate the impact of Trump's policies on their export-driven businesses.

Trump declared 25 percent tariffs on all car and car parts imports, as well as reciprocal tariffs against Korea at 25 percent, which got a 90-day grace period. Industry insiders estimate that the profit of Hyundai Motor and Kia, the country’s two largest automakers, will be slashed by some 10 trillion won ($7 billion) due to the tariffs, while Korea’s exports to the United States will be cut by 7.5 percent, or $5.1 billion.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, left, speaks at the White House as U.S. President Donald Trump watches on on March 24. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Enlisting Trump-allied insiders with political clout

Hyundai Motor Group recently appointed former Republican Rep. Drew Ferguson as the new head of its Washington office, effective May 1, tasking him with handling major communication between the company and the White House and Congress.

Ferguson, who represented Georgia's 3rd District for four terms from 2017 to 2024, is recognized for his strong alignment with the president's policies. Throughout Trump’s first term, he backed major initiatives such as revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, job creation and tax reform. He also played a pivotal role in legislative efforts aimed at bolstering U.S. manufacturing, a goal frequently tied to Trump’s tariff policies.

“The scale of Hyundai’s government relations operations has grown substantially, with their strategic significance continuing to escalate,” said an industry source. “Most of the team members who belong to the Korean headquarters have been deployed to the Washington office.”

Sung Kim

The carmaker also promoted Sung Kim, a former U.S. diplomat who served in various key roles in the Barack Obama administration, Trump’s first administration and the Joe Biden administration, to president to lead the company’s strategic planning division and lead the Global Policy Office, having previously served as an adviser since January 2024.

Kim’s experience in government relations likely served as a pivotal factor, facilitating Hyundai chief Euisun Chung's appearance next to Trump to announce a $21 billion investment at the White House in late March, at which Kim was present.

Samsung Electronics last year elevated its global public affairs team to a department-level unit, promoting Kim Won-kyong from team leader to president to spearhead the office. Kim is a prominent expert on U.S. affairs, having previously led the team responsible for overseeing negotiations on the Korea-U.S. FTA at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Its Washington office has been headed since 2022 by Mark Lippert, who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Korea and the chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense. Samsung is reportedly looking for new searching for a suitable candidate to replace him due to his close ties to President Obama.

SK Group has newly established SK Americas, a strategic command center for North American government relations, and appointed Yu Jeong-joon, the vice chairman of SK On, as its inaugural president. Yu is also part of the 26-strong economic delegation of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, chaired by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

Chey and Yu held a 45-minute meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in February, even before he took office, to deliver Seoul's stance on the White House's position concerning the U.S. trade deficit with Korea.

SK also hired Paul Delaney, the former deputy chief of staff at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, to head its Washington office and oversee its government relations. Delaney also served as the international trade counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Finance between 2011 and 2013.

“Trump places high value on personal associations and favors a top-down approach, which is likely to force Korean companies to place a strong emphasis on lobbying,” said Kim Dae-jong, a business professor at Sejong University.

“With the current leadership vacuum in Korea, government relations remain the top priority for the foreseeable future.”

Hanwha Group recruited Danny O'Brien, who served as the chief of staff to U.S. President Joe Biden when he was in the Senate, as president of external affairs of Hanwha Q Cells, a solar arm of Hanwha Solutions. The group doesn’t have a Washington office, but Q Cells has various solar projects in the United States.

Hanwha Aerospace in March also appointed Michael Coulter as the global defense CEO of Hanwha. Coulter held key positions in the U.S. State and Defense Departments during the George Bush administration, and is known for his extensive Republican network and is widely regarded as a “Trump-tailored” appointment.

LG Group in January named Hwang Sang-youn as the new head of its Washington office. Hwang was one of the founding executives of the lobbying-specialized branch.

Hwang will work with Joe Hagin, the former head and now adviser to the office who previously worked as the White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term in 2017 and 2018.

LG also hired Je Hyun-jung, the former chief representative of the Korea International Trade Association’s Washington region, as a senior leader for its Washington operations.

A view of Samsung Electronics’ chip plant under construction in Taylor, Texas [YONHAP]

Sacrificing millions in lobbying to defend Biden-vowed billions in subsidies

The five Korean conglomerates spent nearly $20.9 million in lobbying expenses in 2024 alone, up 37.5 percent compared to 2021, according to data from lobbying-tracking firm OpenSecrets.

Samsung committed $6.98 million solely to lobbying with 64 lobbyists last year, while SK invested $5.59 million with 31 lobbyists on the payroll, according to OpenSecrets' data. Hyundai allocated $3.28 million with 49 lobbyists, and LG, $1.14 million with 15 lobbyists.

Hanwha’s push in lobbying efforts particularly stands out as its expenditures soared 510 percent to $3.91 million in 2024 compared to 2021 due to its aim to expand its foothold in the U.S. defense market.

A more pronounced shift in the lobbying landscape is the rising presence of "revolving door" lobbyists — individuals with prior experience in the White House or other U.S. government agencies.

Of Samsung’s 64 lobbyists, 39, or 61 percent, were revolvers, while SK had 64.5 percent. Hyundai had 49 lobbyists and of them, 29 had backgrounds in the U.S. government, OpenSecrets' data said.

Robots make the Ioniq 5 SUV at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, which opened in Bryan County, Georgia, on March 26. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Samsung Electronics also inked a contract with the lobbying firm Continental Strategy, according to the U.S. government's Lobbying Disclosure Act reports, where Katie Wiles — the daughter of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — is employed as the director of its lobbying and consulting offices in Jacksonville and Washington.

Samsung’s bold lobbying maneuver comes in the wake of looming uncertainties over Trump’s threats to abolish the CHIPS Act, under which it was promised $4.75 billion, or 12.8 percent of the total investment, in its chip plant in Texas as subsidies under the Biden administration.

Hanwha Q Cells retained Joe Mendelson, a former Tesla lobbyist, as the vice president of Hanwha Q Cells America in September. The company is investing $2.5 billion in two solar panel manufacturing projects in Dalton and Cartersville, both in Georgia, and was granted a $1.45 billion loan from the U.S. Energy Department.

“All companies must set up a centralized command to consolidate all information, coordinate components and the value chain, and formulate an action plan for immediate response,” said Shiv Shivaraman, Asia region leader at consulting firm AlixPartners, touching on the necessity of a war room.

“It's unclear in terms of [Trump’s] schedule, but we know there is a spectrum of possibilities. Is it just a negotiation tactic at one end of the spectrum to achieve such outcomes or is it a permanent measure?” Shivaraman added. “The big question is, what do we do in the meantime?"

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]