U.S. lawmaker accuses Korean regulators of 'discriminatory' actions against Coupang

▲ Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) speaks during a hearing at the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 13, 2026 in this photo captured from the committee's YouTube account. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) speaks during a hearing at the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 13, 2026 in this photo captured from the committee's YouTube account. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

US lawmaker-Coupang

U.S. lawmaker accuses Korean regulators of 'discriminatory' actions against Coupang

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. lawmaker claimed Tuesday that South Korean regulators appear to be "aggressively" targeting Coupang Inc., a U.S.-listed firm, through "discriminatory" actions, as the e-commerce giant is under intense scrutiny in Seoul over a massive customer data leak.

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), chair of the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, made the claim during a hearing, as Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo was in Washington to address growing U.S. concerns over South Korea's regulatory efforts over online platform firms and the Coupang case.

"Korean regulators already seem to be aggressively targeting U.S. technology leaders," he said. "One example would be Coupang through discriminatory regulatory actions."

Smith pointed out last year's joint fact sheet on trade and security agreements between Seoul and Washington, which included a shared commitment to ensuring that U.S. companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary barriers from laws and policies concerning digital services.

"Unfortunately, it's my observation that Korea continues to pursue legislative efforts explicitly targeting U.S. companies," he said.

During the hearing, Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) argued that South Korea and other countries continue attempts to "stifle the free flow of digital trade."

"This is most apparent in South Korea, where the National Assembly continues to advance legislation that targets U.S. companies, including a recently passed censorship bill, and recently launched a political witch hunt against two American executives," she said.

She was apparently referring to the recently passed revision to the Information and Communications Network Act aimed at tackling false and fabricated online information, and top officials of Coupang.

Also attending the hearing was Nigel Cory, director of Crowell Global Advisors, a public policy firm, who outlined a set of issues facing U.S. businesses operating in South Korea.

"In essence, what U.S. firms have found is that they've been consistently, aggressively targeted by Korean competition authorities, and that the Korean system lacks due process and procedural safeguards to ensure that they are treated fairly during the course of these investigations," he said.

U.S. lawmakers and other figures have expressed concerns over Korea's regulatory moves regarding online tech firms, as well as its actions to address Coupang's data leak incident.

In a social media post on Monday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) warned that there are "consequences" for state-sponsored "hostile actions" toward American companies. His message came hours after he met with the Korean trade minister.

Issa said that during the meeting with Yeo, he made clear that the "unjustified targeting of American technology companies and unfair treatment of Coupang by the Lee administration were not acceptable, especially from a friend of 70 years."

Also on Monday, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) said that he was "appalled" at the Korean government's actions calling for criminal charges against U.S. executives of Coupang, arguing that the move is based on a "politically motivated witch hunt."

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