Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice on the 23rd questioned whether it aligns with international law or justice for minority equity investors in Coupang's U.S. parent company to pressure the government of Korea by submitting a notice of intent to arbitrate under investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).
The Minister said in a Facebook post that some U.S. investors in "Coupang" submitted an ISDS notice of intent containing baseless claims against the Korean government and requested U.S. government intervention, and stated accordingly.
The Minister said, "The essence of this situation is Coupang's poor management and irresponsible attitude that exposed the personal information of 33.7 million citizens of Korea," adding, "Responsibility lies with Coupang's Korean subsidiary."
The Minister added, "At this point, we need a response based on thorough and cool-headed legal judgment, not an emotional reaction, to prepare for future procedures," and said, "As the competent minister, under the clear principle of protecting the rights and interests of the people of Korea and the national interest, I will calmly review the relevant legal issues and respond accordingly."
Greenoaks and Altimeter, which hold equity in Coupang Inc., Coupang's U.S. parent company, claimed on the 22nd (local time) that the Korean government treated Coupang in a discriminatory manner in violation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), causing losses such as a share price decline. They sent the Korean government a notice of intent to initiate ISDS arbitration against the Korean government.
A notice of intent to arbitrate is a written document sent to the counterparty state expressing an intention to bring arbitration. Formal arbitration may be filed 90 days after submission of the notice. More than 70% of Coupang Inc.'s voting rights are held by Bom Kim, chair of the Coupang Inc. board and a U.S. national. Neil Mehta, founder and partner of Greenoaks, sits on the Coupang Inc. board.
In the notice of intent, Greenoaks and Altimeter argued that after the personal data breach at Coupang on Dec. 1, 2025, the National Assembly and the administration targeted Coupang on all fronts with various administrative measures such as fact-finding investigations and made threatening remarks.
They further argued that this violated the Korea-U.S. FTA obligations of fair and equitable treatment, national treatment and most-favored-nation treatment, comprehensive protection, and the prohibition of expropriation, and that it resulted in damages amounting to several billion dollars.
The two firms also petitioned the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate Korea's "unfair and discriminatory actions" under Section 301 of the Trade Act and to take appropriate trade remedy measures. Any stakeholder may petition for an investigation, and USTR must decide whether to initiate one within 45 days of receiving the petition.
If USTR decides to initiate an investigation, it will enter into consultations with the Korean government. If the U.S. side does not obtain the desired outcome through consultations and determines in the investigation that U.S. rights were infringed, USTR may retaliate against Korea with measures such as a tariff or other restrictions on imports.
Coupang investors petitioned USTR to impose a tariff on Korean products, restrict the provision of Korean services in the United States, and prepare measures to prevent a recurrence.