U.S. House report “Korean government discriminates against U.S. companies···Coupang ‘organized attack’” - 경향신문

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After a large-scale personal data leak at Coupang led to significant secondary harm, silence hangs over the Coupang headquarters building in Songpa-gu, Seoul, in December last year. Seong Dong-hun

On the 1st (local time), a U.S. federal congressional report was released alleging that the Korean government gives discriminatory treatment to U.S. companies, including Coupang. One-sided claimssuch as that the government investigation into the Coupang data leak and the imposition of a fine were excessive, and that various platform regulations target U.S. firmswere carried as-is without rebuttal.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee posted on its website a 35-page report titled ‘Blocking Competition: Discriminatory Attacks in Korea on American-Owned Firms’. This comes about five months after it opened a formal inquiry in February into alleged discrimination by the Korean government against U.S. technology companies.

The report asserts that “the Korean government has a long history of discriminating against U.S. companies,” claiming it has sanctioned U.S. firms by using coercive law enforcement, imposing excessive regulatory obligations, and levying massive fines.

It particularly took issue with the Korea Fair Trade Commission. The report claims that the Korea Fair Trade Commission has enforced regulations especially aggressively against U.S. companies, asserting that it forced corporate cooperation through pre-dawn raids, multi-day investigations, and threats of criminal punishment.

The report also advances the claim that Korea “weaponized laws and regulations so that innovative U.S. companies cannot compete effectively in the Korean market.” It points to the Online Platform Act the government is pursuing and the law enacted in 2021 that bans forced in-app payments, among others.

More than half of the report is devoted to emphasizing that, after the personal data leak, Coupang received discriminatory treatment from the Korean government.

Defining Coupang as an ‘American company’, the report asserts that although Coupang had for years faced discriminatory regulation by the Korean government, after this incident the attacks intensified into a ‘systematic attempt to paralyze Coupang as a business’.

As examples, it cites that the government spread false information exaggerating the scale of the leak, continually criticized Coupang through the media while the investigation was underway, and portrayed the company like a ‘criminal organization’. It also contends that the so-called ‘self-investigation’in which Coupang retrieved in China the laptop of the former employee who leaked data, a move that sparked controversywas carried out under instructions from the National Intelligence Service, and that the highest levels of the Korean government, including the presidential office, were aware of the entire process.

It also alleges discrimination in the process of imposing the fine. The Personal Information Protection Commission last month recognized that Coupang leaked the personal data of 37.5 million people and collected user online records without consent, and imposed a record-high fine of 624.6 billion KRW. Claiming that the penalty was much heavier than for domestic firms that caused far more serious breaches, the report cited SK Telecom, among others.

The report was written unilaterally in favor of Coupang under the overarching premise that the Korean government discriminates against U.S. companies. It does not mention that the Personal Information Protection Commission calculates fines by comprehensively considering the scale of harm, how a company responded during the leak, and revenue, irrespective of company nationality. Harold Rogers, interim head of Coupang Korea, reportedly submitted thousands of documents and call records related to the data-leak incident during his closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in February, and the report appears to have been drafted based on that material.

In fact, SK Telecom, which was fined 134.8 billion KRW, had 23 million people affected, about 60% of Coupang. In addition, under the Personal Information Protection Act, whether there was a data breach is determined by whether an attacker could access the information. Coupang reduced the apparent scale by asserting that the leaker had saved 3,000 customer records, and the House accepted this as-is.

In addition, citing that Coupang underwent more than 400 Ministry of Employment and Labor inspections in 2025, the report argues that the Korean government waged a ‘harassment campaign’ against the company, while failing to mention that workers died in succession due to harsh conditions at Coupang logistics centers and elsewhere.

Outside the Coupang case, the report is equally one-sided. It cites the law that bans the two dominant app markets, Google and Apple, from forcing in-app payments as discrimination against U.S. firms, yet the two companies have brandished delays or refusals of app launches to render the law toothless.

Earlier, Coupang issued a statement saying that it contacted a former employee in China late last December and retrieved personal data, and that there had been instructions from the Korean government during the process. The National Intelligence Service countered that it had given Coupang no instructions, orders, or approvals, adding that it merely recognized the situation as a national security threat and held working-level consultations for information collection and analysis. Some in the industry argue that, because Coupang was not credited for its efforts to retrieve data in the Personal Information Protection Commission fine calculation, the release of the report could reignite debate over whether the size of the fine was appropriate.

Coupang Inc., the U.S. headquarters of Coupang, said the same day that it regrets the situation that led to the House Judiciary Committee investigation and that it will do its best to find constructive solutions so that Coupang can again serve as a bridge that strengthens the U.S.-Korea alliance and promotes trade·investment between the two countries.

The government expressed regret over the report. Park Il, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 2nd that the government had communicated with the House Judiciary Committee and fully explained its position, yet none of it was reflected, and that it regrets that the report unilaterally reflects only the claims of Coupang.

Park emphasized that it is not true that the government conducts discriminatory investigations into, or imposes unfair regulations on, U.S. companies. He added that the government plans to actively explain that it is faithfully implementing the commitment in the U.S.-Korea summit joint fact sheet (explanatory document) to treat U.S. digital companies in a non-discriminatory manner.

However, some within the government judge that persuasion may be difficult, as the U.S. administration and Congress are taking a tougher stance than ever. The government is also said to be keeping in mind the possibility that Congress will publish additional reports related to Coupang and hold hearings going forward.