Home > Business > Industry

Korean firms' lobbying expenses soar with rising U.S. investments

Published: 01 Oct. 2025, 14:11 Updated: 01 Oct. 2025, 20:56

U.S. President Donald Trump, in front of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivers remarks claiming a link between autism and childhood vaccines and the use of the popular pain medication Tylenol for pregnant women and children, which has not been backed by decades of science, at the White House in Washington on Sept. 22. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Major Korean companies more than doubled their lobbying expenditures in the United States over the past five years, with Hanwha's spending soaring more than 12-fold, while Samsung spent $8.62 million last year alone.

Onlookers attribute the jump to the surge of Korean companies’ growing investment in the U.S. market and efforts to build connections with the U.S. government and Congress amid preparations for U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

According to corporate data tracker CEO Score, which analyzed reports filed under the U.S. Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) with the Senate from 2020 through the first half of 2025, 52 Korean corporate entities reported steadily increasing lobbying expenses during the period. Lobbying in the United States — defined as legal efforts to communicate group interests to lawmakers or government bodies — must be publicly reported under the LDA.

Korean companies spent $15.53 million in 2020, $21.61 million in 2021, $23.8 million in 2022 and $24.92 million in 2023. Spending spiked to $35.32 million in 2024 — a 41.8 percent jump from the previous year, coinciding with the U.S. presidential election. In the first half of this year, companies spent $19.66 million, up 12.6 percent from the same period last year.

The number of lobbying reports also grew from 127 in 2020 to 288 in 2024. So far this year, 161 reports have been filed during the first six months of the year.

Seven Korean conglomerates each spent more than $1 million on lobbying last year: Samsung, SK, Hanwha, Hyundai Motor, Coupang, LG and Young Poong.

A joint battery factory operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia [KANG TAE-HWA]

Samsung led with $8.62 million in lobbying expenditures. That figure includes spending by Samsung Electronics, Samsung Semiconductors, Samsung SDI and eMagin — a U.S.-based OLED company acquired by Samsung.

SK followed with $7.08 million, while Hanwha spent $6.05 million. Other major spenders included Hyundai Motor with $4.78 million, Coupang with $3.31 million, LG with $1.34 million, Young Poong with $1 million and Posco with $960,000.

Hanwha saw the largest increase compared to 2020, when it spent just $450,000. Its lobbying spend surged 1,244.4 percent to $6.05 million by 2024, overtaking Hyundai Motor for the first time.

Hanwha’s sharp rise in spending is attributed to lobbying led by Hanwha Qcells, which announced a major solar panel factory expansion in 2023. The company also petitioned the U.S. government to investigate low-cost Chinese solar products entering through Southeast Asia.

“Last year’s U.S. presidential election and the prospect of a new administration appear to have heightened political risk, leading Korean companies to increase their U.S. investments and lobbying as Washington rapidly reorganizes global supply chains,” said a representative of CEO Score.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]