Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul / Korea Times file
Korea is fully implementing its pledge not to discriminate against U.S. digital companies in line with summit agreements between the two nations' leaders, the foreign ministry said Thursday, pushing back on U.S. Republicans' claims of Seoul's "targeted assault" on American firms.
The foreign ministry issued the statement after 54 Republican congressional members sent a letter to Korean Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha urging Seoul to cease what they describe as unwarranted treatment of U.S. firms through discriminatory regulations and other measures.
Among the companies cited was Coupang Inc., the U.S.-listed e-commerce giant that has come under legal scrutiny in Korea over its massive data breach involving the personal information of more than 33 million users. The lawmakers accused Seoul of using the "low-sensitivity" incident as a pretext to attack Coupang.
"The government has been fully implementing its commitment to not subject U.S. digital companies to discriminatory actions or unnecessary barriers, in line with the leaders' agreements outlined in the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet. This includes Coupang," the ministry said.
"The investigation and measures concerning Coupang are being carried out in accordance with domestic law and due process, and are conducted in a non-discriminatory manner regardless of nationality," it said.
Korea has explained these positions to U.S. Congress and will continue to do so, the ministry added.
The letter from the Republican Study Committee came amid mounting speculation in Korea that Washington had warned talks on security issues under the joint fact sheet, such as Seoul's push for nuclear-powered submarines, may not proceed unless Seoul guarantees the personal safety of Coupang Chairman Kim Bom-suk.
Seoul has said the security talks are unrelated to the Coupang issue and that it will continue consulting with Washington to ensure the matter does not affect the talks.
Source: Korea Times News
