House Panel Accuses South Korea of Targeting Coupang and US Tech Firms

A House Judiciary Committee report accuses South Korea of waging a discriminatory regulatory campaign against Coupang and other U.S. companies — allegations Seoul flatly denies, in a dispute that has grown into a flashpoint in a trade relationship worth more than $350 billion.

Tyler Grant July 2, 2026 at 12:25 AM

A data-breach enforcement case in Seoul has escalated into a trade and diplomatic fight in Washington.

The report

A House Judiciary Committee staff report released Tuesday accuses the South Korean government of "discriminatory attacks" on American businesses, casting the e-commerce company Coupang as the central target, CNBC reported. The committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, said Seoul's conduct violates digital-trade terms of a bilateral deal the Trump administration struck with South Korea last year, part of what it called a broader effort by foreign governments to "weaponize their laws" against U.S. firms.

The Coupang case

Coupang is incorporated in the U.S. but does the bulk of its business in South Korea. After a 2025 data breach that the company's regulator said exposed tens of millions of accounts, Korea's privacy commission imposed a record fine of about $409 million, citing "deficiencies in basic safety management." The committee argues those penalties are disproportionate to what Korean rivals would face and have helped drive a sharp drop in Coupang's market value. Coupang has said it will "fully cooperate" with the committee.

The platform-law fight

The report also targets a proposed South Korean law that would place preemptive rules on large online platforms. U.S. lawmakers contend its thresholds would capture American giants — Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon — while sparing major Chinese platforms, a concern the House Appropriations Committee flagged earlier. Coupang has expanded its Washington presence, hiring Trump-connected lobbyists, Semafor reported, and senior administration officials have publicly backed the company.

Seoul's rebuttal

South Korea rejects the discrimination charge. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has said there is "absolutely no discrimination" against Coupang, and a South Korean embassy spokesperson said the breach was exceptionally large for a country of 51 million and that the response was "consistent with those applied to Korean companies in comparable cases." Korea's antitrust chief has said the proposed platform law is technologically neutral and does not "target" U.S. firms, the Korea Times reported. With the administration linking the broader trade relationship to the companies' complaints, a corporate enforcement dispute has become a test of the U.S.-Korea alliance — one whose resolution remains unsettled.