Trump Faces 100 Billion Won Compensation for 'Sexual Harassment'... How Will He Raise the Funds?

by Kang Nahum

Published 28 Jan.2024 17:18(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay damages worth around 100 billion won for defamation related to a sexual assault victim from 28 years ago, drawing public attention to how he will raise the compensation. As a real estate tycoon running the Trump Group, he is believed to have sufficient capacity to pay the damages, but the possibility of having to liquidate assets cannot be ruled out.

According to foreign media including the AP on the 28th, Trump stated in his most recent annual financial statement that as of the end of June 2021, he held $294 million (approximately 393.3 billion won) in cash or cash equivalents. Adding the real estate assets that Trump claims are worth billions of dollars, his wealth reaches an astronomical scale.

This amount is sufficient to cover the $83.3 million (about 111.2 billion won) in defamation damages that a jury at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on the 26th that Trump must pay to fashion columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Trump was found liable for falsely denying Carroll's claim that he sexually assaulted her in 1996 at the upscale department store Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, New York. Trump has expressed his intention to appeal the ruling, which means the payment of damages could be delayed until the appeal process, which may take several months, is concluded.

People close to Trump also said he has enough cash in various accounts to pay the damages awarded by the verdict.

The issue lies in the outcomes of other trials beyond this ruling. A civil trial regarding allegations of asset value manipulation by Trump and the Trump Group is expected to conclude soon.

Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General, has requested through this lawsuit that Trump and the Trump Group be fined $370 million (about 495 billion won) and that the Trump Group be banned from conducting business in New York State.

In recent years, Trump has sold several assets, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., owned by the Trump Group, for $375 million (about 51.7 billion won). If Trump is required to pay a huge fine, he may need to sell other assets to cover it.