The U.S. Chamber of Commerce clearly stated its opposition to South Korea's online platform regulations in a statement congratulating Lee Jae-myung on his election as president.
Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement on the 16th (local time), "Congratulations to President Lee Jae-myung on his election," but also stressed, "We strongly urge the restraint of platform regulations that could unfairly impact American corporations."
Freeman emphasized how important the economic relationship between the two countries is, noting, "South Korea is the sixth-largest trading partner of the U.S., and the U.S. is South Korea's second-largest trading partner."
He assessed that "the South Korea-U.S. alliance acts as a strong pillar for democracy, free enterprise, and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region, beyond the strong economic ties between the two countries."
The Chamber also expressed its intention to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries by mentioning the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Freeman particularly highlighted the "belief in eliminating extensive tariffs and other barriers that hinder close economic cooperation."
The Chamber expressed strong concerns about the online platform regulations that the Lee Jae-myung administration plans to implement.
Freeman said, "We are ready to work with this administration to enhance the contributions of American corporations in the fields of healthcare, financial services, energy, and the digital economy."
South Korea is currently pursuing revisions to the Online Platform Brokerage Act (Platform Act) to prevent large platform corporations like Google, Meta, Apple, and Amazon from abusing their market dominance.
However, American corporations strongly oppose this. Most of the major big-tech companies are American corporations.
If the Platform Act passes, these corporations will face significant constraints on their operations in South Korea. Experts analyzed that particular pressures to reduce fees and obligations to establish an open ecosystem could impose significant burdens.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also issued a similar statement last year on January 29 under Freeman's name.
At that time, the Chamber criticized, "It tramples on competition that benefits consumers and puts foreign corporations in a position that arbitrarily targets them, violating trade agreements."
Currently, more than 15 platform-related bills, including the 'Basic Law on Online Platforms', are pending in the Korean National Assembly.
President Lee Jae-myung also proposed the enactment of the online platform law as a campaign promise.