South Korean government discriminated against Coupang, House report finds

The South Korean government used its regulatory authority to discriminate against US companies and waged an unprecedented campaign against online retailers CoupangAccording to a House Judiciary Committee report released Wednesday.

The report is the result of a study An investigation was opened by the committee In February. It highlights the treatment of Coupang, which is headquartered in the US but known as the “Amazon of Asia”, and other US companies going back decades.

“South Korea’s behavior is part of a broader attempt by foreign governments to weaponize their laws and regulations to harm American companies and limit their ability to compete in the global economy,” said the committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

The South Korean embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The committee said in its report that Coupang was the target of a discriminatory crackdown by the South Korean government that intensified in 2025 following a data breach by a disgruntled former employee.

The company apologized for the violation and its CEO Park Dae-jun resigned as a result of the incident.

But according to testimony to the committee by Coupang’s acting CEO, Harold Rogers, who took over in December after Park’s resignation, South Korean authorities were informed by the company that same month that the size of the breach was smaller than initially expected and that “the leak was limited in nature,” according to the House Judiciary report.

Despite this information, the committee found that the South Korean government launched a campaign against Coupang that included dozens of investigations, thousands of document requests, excessive fines and threats of criminal charges against Rogers, who is a U.S. citizen.

According to the committee, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service forced Coupang to send divers on an undercover mission to retrieve a laptop used by the disgruntled former employee who was thrown into a river in Shanghai and then lied to the public about his involvement in the recovery operation.

“We regret the circumstances that led to the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation and remain committed to finding a constructive solution that will enable Coupang to once again serve as a bridge that will strengthen the U.S.-Korea alliance and accelerate trade and investment that benefits both countries,” the company said in a statement. he said.

According to the committee, the result of South Korea’s campaign against Coupang was a decline of more than 40% in Coupang’s market value, which could negatively impact investors.

“South Korean regulators have consistently targeted Coupang, subjecting the company to hostile regulatory treatment, unfair enforcement practices, and disproportionately large penalties not faced by its Korean competitors,” the judicial report said. The statement is included.

The United States and South Korea have had a free trade agreement since 2012. South Korea has become an important trading partner of the United States in Asia, Demetrios Marantis, former acting U.S. trade representative under President Barack Obama, told CNBC.

However, this relationship has become tense at times, and other US-based digital companies Google And netflix – According to Marantis, they have also battled with South Korean regulators at times.

“Korea in general has a long history of discriminating against foreign companies, being protectionist and somewhat inward-looking,” he said. “But the situation with Coupang; I’ve never seen anything this intense before. This much government attack on a single company.”

The U.S.-South Korea trade deal was renegotiated in 2025 as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. South Korea negotiated a lower tariff rate with Trump in exchange for investments in U.S. shipbuilding and national security, as well as rolling back regulations on American companies.

The House Judiciary Committee argued in its report that South Korea’s actions against Coupang violated the agreement.

“South Korea’s discriminatory treatment of American-owned businesses directly violates the recent trade agreement with the United States,” the report states.