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2mo ago

South Korean Lawmakers Send Protest Letter to U.S. Over Coupang Probe

The move asserts judicial sovereignty in a corporate case that has become a test of alliance politics.

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Lawmakers hold a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 28, 2026, condemning what they describe as undue pressure from U.S. political circles that infringes on South Korea's judicial sovereignty in connection with the Coupang case. (Yonhap)
In this file photo taken Oct. 26, 2018, then Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (R) speaks with First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun during a parliamentary audit session at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Yonhap)
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Overview

  • About 90 lawmakers from the ruling and allied parties delivered a protest letter to the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, urging Washington to stop pressuring Seoul over the Coupang investigation.
  • The letter answers an April 21 note from 54 U.S. House Republicans that called South Korea’s actions a targeted assault on American firms and urged an end to what they called persecution of Coupang.
  • The lawmakers say the case stems from a November 2025 breach that exposed data on roughly 33 million Coupang users along with alleged unfair business practices.
  • At a National Assembly briefing, they accused Coupang of misleading U.S. officials in lobbying and said U.S. actors raised the chairman’s personal safety as a condition tied to high‑level talks.
  • Earlier, U.S. investors filed and then withdrew a trade complaint under Section 301 of U.S. law, a step that spurred direct talks and could widen into disputes over how Korea regulates big tech and e‑commerce.