Coupang taps former Trump aide for political relations

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. hired a top aide of former US President Donald Trump to expand its political network in Washington and secure its influence on Seoul, which is poised to regulate the company’s founder, industry sources in Seoul said on Monday.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed company recruited Rob Porter, who served as White House Staff Secretary for Trump from January 2017 to February 2018, as an advisor, according to the sources.

“Coupang recently appointed Porter as an advisor and he will advise on external affairs concerning the US government and Congress,” one of the sources said.

Porter is also expected to play various roles in Coupang’s investments in global businesses, such as cross-border shopping in the US and China, tapping his extensive network, another source said.

Coupang is based in Delaware but generates most of its sales from South Korea.

Porter, along with Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, was famous for persuading Trump not to terminate a free trade agreement with South Korea.

In 2021, Coupang named Alex Wong, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian & Pacific affairs at the US Department of State, as its head of public affairs, overseeing public policy, US government relations, and engagement with an array of stakeholders.

Write to Hun-Hyoung Ha at hhh@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.