Seoul: The South Korean government has received a letter from the United States addressing concerns over Korea's push for digital regulations, the industry ministry said Tuesday, amid speculation the issue may be one of the reasons U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will raise its reciprocal tariffs on South Korea back to 25 percent.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the letter was sent to Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon about two weeks ago and was also delivered to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources as a reference. The industry ministry did not elaborate on the details of the content earlier, citing "diplomatic" protocol, but later confirmed that the letter mainly concerned digital regulation issues in Korea. The ministry clarified that it was not directly related to Trump's accusation that the Korean legislature is not meeting its end of the trade deal finalized between the two countries in October.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. president said he is raising "reciprocal" tariffs and auto duties on Korea to 25 percent from 15 percent, citing a delay in approval by the Korean National Assembly of a special bill to support the country's US$350 billion investment pledge to the U.S. The bill was submitted to the Assembly by the ruling Democratic Party in November but has yet to be passed.

Still, many observers here believe Trump's move may also be aimed at pressuring Seoul over its recent push for digital regulations, as well as an ongoing probe into Coupang Inc., a U.S.-listed e-commerce firm, over a massive data leak incident. U.S. lawmakers and investors have called the investigation into Coupang "discriminatory," while the State Department expressed "significant concerns" last month over Seoul's regulatory moves that could affect online platform businesses.

The Coupang issue was also discussed during Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance last week, where the two agreed to manage the issue to ensure it will not cause misunderstandings between the two governments, according to Seoul officials.