 |
| ▲ File photo of Coupang's Seoul headquarters (Yonhap) |
lawmakers-US-Coupang
Over 80 ruling bloc lawmakers to send joint letter of protest against U.S. defense of Coupang
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- More than 80 lawmakers of the ruling bloc plan to send a joint letter to the U.S. government protesting its defense of e-commerce giant Coupang, arguing it constitutes an infringement on South Korea's judicial sovereignty, political sources said Monday.
The envisioned letter, which has reportedly been co-signed by 83 lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), the minor Rebuilding Korea Party and Jinbo Party, will be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, following a press conference at the National Assembly.
The missive will come in response to Washington's reported complaints against Seoul over what some in the U.S. view as unfair treatment of Coupang, a U.S.-listed firm, amid a probe here into a massive breach of the personal information of more than 33 million of its customers.
The plan for the letter was revealed in a request DP Reps. Kim Nam-geun, Park Hong-bae and others sent to fellow lawmakers to ask for their signatures.
In the request, they argued the U.S. government recently demanded that Seoul guarantee the personal safety of Coupang Chairman Kim Bom-suk or risk a suspension of high-level bilateral consultations. They argued that the demand amounts to a "clear infringement on judicial sovereignty."
Also, they cited a letter sent by more than 50 U.S. Republican lawmakers to South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha last week to urge an end to the "targeted assault" of American companies.
"There is a high risk this could go beyond a simple diplomatic rift or controversy over an infringement of sovereignty to have a negative impact on South Korea's labor rights and fair economic order," they said.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
