Facing government sanctions after a leak of personal information on more than 33m customers - virtually every Korean adult - South Korea’s leading online retailer is fighting back to a degree never before seen in the Korean economy. Coupang 쿠팡, an Amazon-like company founded by Korean American Beom-su Kim 김범수 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange is bringing political and legal pressure against the Korean government from the United States.
In his first international trip as prime minister 국무총리, Kim Min-seok 김민석 traveled to the US from January 22 to 26. In a meeting with Kim, US vice president J.D. Vance accused the South Korean government of targeting Coupang and also said he was “concerned” about the prosecution of Son Hyeon-bo 손현보, the far-right, election-denying pastor who was one of the key players in Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열’s insurrection. (See previous coverage, “The Global Brain Rot Community.”)
Meanwhile, on January 22, two US investors - Greenoaks Capital and Altimeter Capital Management - issued a notice of intent to bring an investor-state arbitration against the Korean government based on the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), claiming that Coupang faced “discriminatory treatment.” The two investors also called for the US Trade Representative to investigate the South Korean government and levy tariffs in retaliation for its investigation of Coupang, claiming president Lee Jae-myung 이재명 is targeting Coupang to help the company’s Chinese competitors.
