Seoul downplays impact of Coupang probe on Korea-US ties

Intensifying scrutiny over a massive data breach at Coupang has cast the e-commerce giant as a surprising inflection point in Korea-US relations, prompting high-level diplomacy aimed at soothing Washington’s unease over what it views as possible regulatory overreach.

During a visit to Washington on Friday, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with US Vice President JD Vance to discuss key bilateral issues, with the alleged discriminatory treatment of Coupang topping the agenda. Coupang is a US-listed e-commerce company that derives most of its revenue from Korea.

According to Kim, the two sides reached a mutual understanding, and the US expressed a clearer grasp of the situation.

“The Vice President wanted to understand precisely what the issue with Coupang was,” Kim said at a press conference on Saturday. “I explained that there had been a monthslong delay in disclosing the breach, a period during which a significant amount of user data had already been exposed.”

The breach at Coupang compromised the personal data of more than 33 million customers, in an incident believed to have begun on June 24. The company claims it only became aware of the leak on Nov. 18 and issued a public notice two days later.

“I also noted that baseless accusations had been directed at both (President Lee Jae Myung) and myself,” Kim continued. “The claim, made by Coupang’s investors, that I had ordered a discriminatory investigation into the company was entirely without merit.”

Kim responded to recent accusations from Coupang’s two major US investors — Greenoaks Capital Partners and Altimeter Capital Management — who claimed he had likened the investigation into the company to a “mafia crackdown.” Kim dismissed the characterization as taken out of context and without basis.

The investors have filed a petition with the US Trade Representative on Thursday, accusing the Korean government of unfairly targeting Coupang. They alleged that the investigation constitutes discrimination against a US competitor to the benefit of domestic and Chinese firms in the Korean market. Citing Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, they called for trade remedies, including tariffs on Korean exports.

Despite the high-profile nature of the dispute, Vice President Vance appeared to understand that the tensions likely stemmed from differences in legal systems and acknowledged that the matter should not escalate into a broader bilateral conflict.

“There was a mutual desire to ensure the issue should not give rise to misunderstandings or become overheated between the two governments,” Kim said. “I assured Vice President Vance that we would provide accurate and timely updates on the Coupang investigation, grounded strictly in facts.”

The two sides agreed to set up a hotline to ease potential tensions on an ongoing basis.

Kim dismissed concerns that the Coupang case could strain ties, saying, “The alliance under the Lee administration is far too strong to be shaken by a single company’s lobbying or baseless claims of discrimination.”

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo sought to dial down tensions elsewhere, drawing a clear line between the corporate dispute and broader bilateral trade issues.

He met with USTR Representative Jamieson Greer during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he conveyed Seoul’s view that the Coupang probe was a domestic regulatory procedure, and that a Korean company would have faced similar scrutiny for a breach of that scale.

“This is not an issue that warrants retaliatory tariffs, and we are committed to resolving misunderstandings through close communication with the US government,” Yeo told reporters on Saturday.