Civic groups condemn Coupang investors' petition against S. Korean gov't

▲ An undated file photo shows a banner denouncing Coupang over its massive customer data leak. (Yonhap)

Coupang investors-civic groups

Civic groups condemn Coupang investors' petition against S. Korean gov't

SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- Domestic civic groups on Friday denounced a request by two U.S. investors in e-commerce giant Coupang for the U.S. government to investigate the South Korean government's alleged discrimination against the U.S.-listed firm.

The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), based in Seoul, issued a statement, condemning the U.S. investors' move as an attempt to violate South Korea's sovereignty by undermining its legitimate law enforcement and regulatory authority.

"A U.S.-listed company, which generates the majority of its revenue in South Korea, failed to take even basic protection measures and leaked a massive amount of personal information of three quarters of the Korean population," the statement said. "Nevertheless, the American political and business communities have set out to apply diplomatic and trade pressure over the Korean government's measures. It is not the basic attitude of a civilized nation."

The PSPD then urged the Seoul government to respond firmly and resolutely according to the law and principles, rather than yielding to threats from the U.S. political and business circles.

An alliance formed by 135 local civic and social groups, including the PSPD and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, to fight to make Coupang safe said it will hold a press conference in front of the U.S. Embassy in downtown Seoul on Friday afternoon to condemn the latest moves by the Coupang investors.

Earlier this week, Greenoaks Capital Partners and Altimeter Capital Management reportedly filed the petition, criticizing South Korean authorities' investigations into Coupang following revelations in November of a large-scale customer data breach. They also submitted a notice of intent to initiate Investor-State Dispute Settlement arbitration proceedings against the Seoul government.

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