U.S. Minister Marco Rubio said on the 3rd (local time) that U.S. corporations are having difficulties in Korea and that Korea's attitude toward such U.S. corporations has affected trade agreements between the two countries.
Minister Rubio appeared at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that day and, responding to Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) point that U.S. corporations such as Coupang and Meta face discrimination in Korea, said, "Our corporations are not experiencing difficulties and targeting only in Korea," adding, "The European Union (EU) is targeting our technology corporations and taking unfair measures."
He went on to say, "I think this (the situation of U.S. corporations in Korea) has become one element of our engagement with Korea, even though we are strategically aligned with Korea on certain things."
Rubio added, "To be frank, I think this has affected our ability to conclude a trade agreement with Korea," saying it was "because of some of their attitudes toward U.S. corporations."
Before Rubio's answer, Issa argued, "Korea's democracy has tilted strongly to the left and is opening more paths toward China," and "in fact, it is beginning to suppress many of our corporations, including Meta and Coupang."
In response, Minister Rubio said, "In democracies, sometimes, as in the case of Japan, they elect leaders who are more favorable to U.S. national interests, and sometimes they elect leaders with different views," adding, "Even if democratically elected leaders take positions against U.S. interests, that does not mean we want to overthrow or remove that government. Because it is a democratic government."
He added, "It simply means we need to engage on the fact that they are taking actions that provoke our national interests."