{"id":7470,"date":"2026-07-14T23:35:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7470"},"modified":"2026-07-14T23:35:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:35:45","slug":"south-korean-company-paid-trump-2-million-amid-trade-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7470","title":{"rendered":"South Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. (Aaron Schwartz\/Pool\/FTWP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s holding company took a $2 million payment last year from a top investor in a South Korean aluminum firm as the company was fighting a trade case before Trump\u2019s Commerce Department, highlighting the president\u2019s business ties to companies with business before his administration.<\/p>

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The payment from Base Co. LTD was part of a \u201cletter of intent\u201d and a \u201cnonrefundable development fee,\u201d according to the president\u2019s latest financial disclosure. The New York Times first reported<\/a> the transaction.<\/p>\n

Base Group is a key shareholder in Korea Aluminium, one of several companies that the Commerce Department has accused of circumventing duties imposed on Chinese aluminum. The company has also had a years-long business relationship with the Trump family business, selling Trump-branded wine in South Korea.<\/p>\n

The White House says the probe has been governed by a \u201ctransparent, quasi-judicial process that is laid out in statute\u201d and denied that the payment amounted to a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurther, all of the President\u2019s assets are held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. \u201cThere are no conflicts of interest, and the only special interest guiding the Trump administration\u2019s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.\u201d<\/p>

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The Commerce Department on Monday issued a preliminary finding that would subject Korea Aluminium\u2019s exports to a 105 percent tax, nearly four times the current rate.<\/p>\n

The Trump Organization, the Commerce Department, Base and Korea Aluminium did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Trump Organization told the New York Times that the payment is part of a golf course project that has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

No evidence has emerged that Trump or his family intervened in the investigation on behalf of Base or Korea Aluminium. But Trump\u2019s expansive portfolio and family business\u2019s deals with companies around the world have no other parallel in modern American industry, opening new ethical quagmires.<\/p>\n

Presidents traditionally have divested from companies that could pose a conflict of interest in office. Trump meanwhile has maintained extensive holdings in crypto and real estate ventures, amassing unprecedented wealth in office. His 2025 income soared <\/a>to more than $2.2 billion, fueled primarily by cryptocurrency-related ventures.<\/p>

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A South Korean investor paid Trump’s company $2 million while its aluminum firm fought a Commerce Department trade case, raising new conflict-of-interest questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7470\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A South Korean investor paid Trump's company $2 million while its aluminum firm fought a Commerce Department trade case, raising new conflict-of-interest questions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7470\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-14T23:35:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fc184987020c82f5032c826f4bf31856.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1792\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1192\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"South Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T23:35:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470\"},\"wordCount\":445,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f2717d9d45d8cb9a104a1d8b90e43334.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470\",\"name\":\"South Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f2717d9d45d8cb9a104a1d8b90e43334.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T23:35:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7470#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f2717d9d45d8cb9a104a1d8b90e43334.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f2717d9d45d8cb9a104a1d8b90e43334.jpg\",\"width\":1792,\"height\":1192,\"caption\":\"WASHINGTON, D.C. - JULY 13: President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts top IndyCar drivers on Monday, July 13, 2026 in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. 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