South Korea Says US Trade Friction Unrelated to Coupang Probe

South Korea’s top diplomat said Donald Trump’s recent threat to raise tariffs on goods from its US ally is not connected to an ongoing investigation into a high-profile data breach at e-commerce company Coupang Inc.

“We see Coupang as unrelated to the current tariff issue,” Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told a seminar in Seoul on Thursday. “Interpreting it as linked is not only inaccurate, but I also think that by doing so, we would be unnecessarily lowering our own negotiating position.”

South Korea is seeking to defuse renewed trade tensions with the US, its second-largest export market, after ...