▲ Foreign ministry spokesperson Park Il speaks during a press briefing in Seoul on July 2, 2026. (Yonhap)

foreign ministry-US House committee

S. Korea expresses regret over U.S. House report alleging discriminatory treatment of Coupang

By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry on Thursday expressed regret over a U.S. House Judiciary Committee report that accused Seoul of carrying out "discriminatory attacks" against e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. and other American firms.

In an interim staff report released Wednesday (U.S. time), the committee said Coupang has been a "consistent target" of the Seoul government, claiming that South Korea has subjected U.S.-owned firms to "coercive investigations, overly burdensome regulatory requirements and excessive fines and penalties" in favor of Korean firms.

"We express regret that the report appears to reflect only Coupang's claims in a one-sided manner," ministry spokesperson Park Il said in a press briefing, noting that the report fails to reflect the Seoul government's position and the factual information it has provided to the committee.

"Investigations and regulatory measures concerning Coupang have been conducted lawfully under South Korean law and have been implemented in a fair and non-discriminatory manner, regardless of nationality," Park added.

Coupang has faced public criticism and investigations over a massive data leak in South Korea that is believed to have affected more than 33 million users.

The strongly worded report has renewed concerns that issues surrounding Coupang could affect bilateral relations.

"The government will continue consultations with the U.S. side to ensure that issues related to Coupang do not have a negative impact on security discussions between South Korea and the United States," Park said.

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