By Gavin Bade and Amrith Ramkumar

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is warning South Korea not to target tech companies with discriminatory regulations and investigations, its latest effort to protect U.S. internet platforms as it threatens higher tariffs on the country.

Many recent discussions involve Coupang, a U.S.-based e-commerce company similar to Amazon that does nearly all its business in the East Asian nation and has powerful allies in the Trump administration and Congress, people familiar with the matter said. They have also covered platform and artificial-intelligence rules that are a concern for companies including Facebook owner Meta Platforms and Google.

Vice President JD Vance met with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok in Washington last week and warned him against penalizing U.S. tech firms including Coupang, the people said. The vice president's office declined to comment.

The exchange happened just days before trade tensions between the two nations came to a head. President Trump Monday said on Truth Social that he would restore tariffs on South Korean cars, drugs and other products to 25% from 15% because the country's legislature hasn't approved the preliminary trade agreement between the two sides. That pact includes South Korea's committing to invest $350 billion in the U.S., and a pledge to not discriminate against U.S. tech firms.

While Trump's post focused on ratification of the trade deal, the threat comes amid growing displeasure among some administration officials about South Korea's approach to a number of issues, including treatment of U.S. tech firms and actions against Christian churches in Korea, say people familiar with the administration's thinking. A White House official, however, said ongoing tensions over tech and religious issues didn't push Trump to issue his Monday tariff threat.

"While the president lowered tariffs on Korea, the Koreans have made no progress on fulfilling their end of the bargain," said the official. "Other alleged issues in the U.S.-Korea relationship are not pertinent to the president's decision here."

Though Trump's post implied that he would increase levies on South Korea immediately, the administration has so far taken no action to alter tariff rates, opening an opportunity for negotiations between the governments. The South Korean government diverted its trade minister, on a visit to Canada, to Washington, D.C., but the White House didn't comment on the tariff threat or whether negotiations were possible.

Trump's post comes after weeks of investigations from South Korean lawmakers and officials into Coupang that could result in regulations, fines and penalties over one of the country's largest-ever data breaches and other complaints about its business practices and working conditions for its employees.

The probes have prompted the CEO of Coupang's flagship Korean subsidiary to step down, and his interim successor -- an American -- to leave South Korea amid investigations by police and lawmakers. South Korean authorities have also raided Coupang's offices there. The company is the second-biggest private employer in the country while branding itself as an American business.

Vance told Kim that the U.S. side wanted to see meaningful de-escalation in the South Korean government's treatment of tech firms such as Coupang, the people familiar with the meeting said.

The South Korean embassy in Washington didn't respond to requests for comment on the meeting, but Kim told South Korean media after his meeting that he told Vance his government isn't discriminating against Coupang.

Disagreements over regulating U.S. tech firms have already thrown up complications to the U.S.-South Korea trade pact that the Trump administration and Kim's government agreed to in October, lowering U.S. tariffs on most Korean goods from 25% to 15%. In December, the U.S. Trade Representative's office canceled a planned meeting on the agreement with the Korean government in part because of concerns about Seoul's digital regulations and actions against U.S. tech firms, the people said.

In recent weeks, South Korea lawmakers have proposed online platform fairness rules that would impose new regulations on tech companies, potentially reneging on a commitment that was part of the initial trade agreement that Trump put at risk with his Monday social-media post. Rules for companies developing artificial-intelligence models recently took effect in South Korea. Security hawks also fear such policies would benefit Chinese tech companies that are expanding in South Korea.

While Vance didn't issue an explicit threat to Kim, the implication was that continued action against U.S. tech firms could mean more complications for the U.S.-South Korea trade deal, potentially leading to its unraveling and higher tariffs on South Korean goods, the people said.

It is the latest use of that tactic after the administration made tariff threats to target internet policies from Canada to the European Union last year.

"They feel they have leverage right now. They want to make sure they get these core issues addressed before they finalize a deal," said Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, an industry group that has been asking the administration to address digital trade issues challenging U.S. companies.

When Kim visited Capitol Hill for lunch during his trip, lawmakers including Korean-Americans Dave Min (R., Calif.) and Young Kim (R., Calif.) asked whether Coupang was being treated differently than Korean companies, people familiar with the meeting said. The prime minister said it isn't meant to be discriminatory, just as some said the U.S. immigration raid on a Hyundai Motors plant in Georgia last year shouldn't be seen as singling out Hyundai, they said.

The warning from Vance highlights the identity crisis faced by Coupang, which was founded by a Harvard Business School dropout in 2010 and was based in Seoul at the time of its 2021 initial public offering. The company has since moved its headquarters to Seattle and rebranded as an American company, hiring Trump alums including former White House staff secretary Rob Porter as its chief global affairs officer.

But most of its revenue still comes from South Korea, where it has built a loyal customer base but alienated some local competitors who don't think it is fair that Coupang claims to be an American company while being a dominant player in Korea.

Park Dae-jun, the former CEO of Coupang's Korean business, stepped down in December following news of the data breach, which compromised the information of roughly 30 million people and prompted legislative hearings and investigations. Coupang named a new interim CEO of the business, Harold Rogers, but he left South Korea this month before a scheduled interview with police over charges of obstruction of official duties and obstruction of business under Korean law, according to South Korean news reports. Coupang declined to comment about his whereabouts.

Coupang shares are down about 30% since the data breach.

Write to Gavin Bade at gavin.bade@wsj.com and Amrith Ramkumar at amrith.ramkumar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2026 18:24 ET (23:24 GMT)

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