The Coupang logo is seen in this photo illustration. Reuters-Yonhap
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected claims by dozens of U.S. Republican lawmakers that Seoul is discriminating against American companies operating in Korea, including Coupang, stressing that the investigation into the e-commerce giant is being conducted in accordance with domestic laws and due process.
This came in response to a letter signed by 54 Republican lawmakers who accused the government of "targeting American companies," with Coupang, which is under investigation in relation to a massive customer data leak, at the center of the dispute.
"Measures and investigations related to Coupang are being carried out in accordance with our domestic laws and due process and are being applied in a nondiscriminatory manner regardless of nationality," the ministry said in a statement Thursday.
It stressed that Seoul is faithfully upholding a commitment in the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet that U.S. companies will not face discriminatory barriers in laws and policies concerning digital services.
"The government has been continuously explaining this stance to the U.S. Congress and will continue to do so," it added.
The statement was issued after the Republicans' letter, addressed to Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha, urged Korea to stop targeting American companies. U.S.-headquartered Coupang is expected to be fined in a few days over the data breach of 33.7 million member accounts.
The letter accused Seoul of ignoring its commitments under the bilateral agreement.
“Many American tech companies have faced a range of regulatory actions that seek to punish them while shielding Korean domestic competition ... Unfortunately, this commitment has been ignored by the (Republic of Korea) government, which has continued to disadvantage American companies. This is unacceptable,” the letter read.
The issue surrounding Coupang, which is headquartered in the U.S. but carries out the vast majority of its business in Korea, has been a bone of contention between the two nations in diplomacy and trade since the investigation into the data breach was launched late last year.
Source: Korea Times News
