James Kim, chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Feb. 11. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

This is the first of two articles based on an interview with James Kim, chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. — ED.

American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) Chairman James Kim cautioned against attempts to tie Seoul’s ongoing investigation into Coupang to Washington’s threat to raise tariffs on Korean goods from 15 percent back to 25 percent.

While supporting the Korean government’s denial of any connection between the two issues, the Korean American head of the U.S. business lobby also expressed his willingness to serve as a mediator to help resolve the growing dispute over the Delaware-headquartered e-commerce firm, which is also a member of the chamber.

Kim told The Korea Times in a recent interview that there are people "trying to intermingle" the Coupang case with the stalled tariff talks. "They should be completely decoupled," he insisted.

The Korean government has attributed the U.S. tariff threat to the National Assembly’s slowness in passing a bill to formalize Korea’s $350 billion investment in American industries.

However, U.S. Republicans and Korean lawmakers from the conservative main opposition party have warned that tariff talks between Seoul and Washington could be negatively affected by the Lee Jae Myung administration’s investigation into Coupang, which involves multiple violations, including last November’s massive data breach that affected more than 33 million users.

"I would be careful about drawing a direct link between individual regulatory or legal proceedings and the broader U.S.-Korea trade relationship," Kim said. "The U.S.-Korea economic relationship is far broader and deeper than any single company or case."

The chairman did not completely rule out the possibility of the Coupang dispute affecting broader trade relations.

Stressing the importance of maintaining close communication to prevent a spillover, he suggested both governments use him as a "bridge" to develop reasonable solutions.

Source: Korea Times News