Greenoaks and Altimeter, U.S. investors in Coupang, took legal action alleging discriminatory treatment by the Korean government over Coupang's personal data leak incident, and three more U.S. asset managers have joined the move.
On the 11th (local time), investment firms Abrams Capital, Durable Capital Partners and Foxhaven said in supplemental filings that they, too, have joined Greenoaks and Altimeter's legal challenge against the Korean government.
Earlier, Greenoaks and Altimeter, investors in Coupang, asked the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) last month to impose appropriate trade remedies, including tariffs and other sanctions, saying the response by our government and the National Assembly to Coupang's personal information leak went beyond the bounds of ordinary regulatory enforcement.
They also submitted a notice of intent for arbitration under investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) to our Ministry of Justice. Claimants can formally initiate arbitration 90 days after submitting a notice of intent. They argue that the Korean government discriminated against Coupang in violation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), causing losses including a share price drop.
In this context, Abrams Capital, Durable Capital Partners and Foxhaven said they formally notified the Korean government that they intend to initiate ISDS arbitration proceedings. They also sent a letter expressing official support for the investigation petitioned to the USTR by the other two firms.
The three firms argued that selective law enforcement targeting Coupang, a technology company founded in the United States and headquartered in the United States, along with unbalanced regulatory probes and reputation-damaging false claims, have cost U.S. shareholders billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to Harold Rogers, acting head of Coupang's Korea unit, and launched a formal investigation. Testimony is expected to be taken in a closed-door deposition rather than at a hearing where lawmakers' questions and Rogers' answers would be made public.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC), one of the largest policy caucuses among House Republicans, voiced support on its social media (SNS) X (formerly Twitter) official account regarding the House inquiry, saying, "Chairperson Jim Jordan and Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Antitrust Scott Fitzgerald are working tirelessly to ensure that America's tech corporations are treated fairly."