As a U.S. House report alleging that the Korean government is treating U.S. corporations, including Coupang, in a discriminatory way was released, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed regret, saying the report contains only Coupang's one-sided claims.
On the 2nd, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a regular briefing held at the Government Complex Seoul annex, "The report's claim that our government continues discriminatory investigations and unfair regulations against Coupang is not true."
Park Il, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that day, "Regarding the closed-door testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee related to Coupang, our government has faithfully explained our position while communicating with the committee. However, we express regret that the Judiciary Committee report released on Wednesday the 1st reflects only Coupang's claims one-sidedly."
Park, the Spokesperson, also said, "Investigations and measures regarding Coupang are being conducted lawfully and without discrimination under our domestic laws, and our government guarantees a fair business environment for corporations regardless of nationality."
Park, the Spokesperson, went on to say the government will continue to engage with the Judiciary Committee as well as the U.S. Congress and administration to deliver accurate information, while explaining that our government is faithfully implementing the Korea-U.S. trade agreements. The government also said it plans to continue consultations with the United States to ensure that issues related to Coupang do not negatively affect Korea-U.S. security discussions.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee on that day released on its website a 35-page report titled "Blocked Competition: South Korea's Discriminatory Assault on American-Owned Businesses."
Based on testimony and documents obtained by the committee, the report claimed, "Korea has targeted American-owned corporations for decades, and the discriminatory treatment has worsened in recent years." It added, "Coercive investigative tactics, excessive regulation, and massive fines and penalty surcharges that punish American corporations and make it difficult to compete with Korean corporations are representative examples."
The report focused in particular on Coupang's case. Defining Coupang's personal information leak as "unauthorized access to data systems by a disgruntled former employee," it claimed, "The Korean government used this as a pretext to mount an all-out offensive."
It also defined the process by which Coupang recovered the hacking suspect's laptop in China as "an operation led by the National Intelligence Service," and detailed Coupang's claim that the action was taken at the instruction of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). It attached, in English translation, the cooperation letter that Coupang says it received from the National Intelligence Service.
The report argued that the Korean government is using digital-related laws and regulations to weaken the competitiveness of American corporations, and assessed that "Korea's discriminatory treatment of American corporations directly violates recently concluded Korea-U.S. trade agreements."
Coupang Inc. said on its website, "We regret the circumstances that led to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's investigation," adding, "Coupang will do its best to find constructive solutions so that it can once again serve as a bridge that contributes to strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and promoting trade and investment between the two countries."