Coupang’s significant spending on lobbying politicians in the United States has apparently paid off, with Republicans criticising the South Korean government’s ongoing investigation into the Seattle-headquartered e-commerce firm.
They have denounced South Korea’s investigation into Coupang as an attempt to favour China while remaining silent on the company’s massive data breach of the personal information of 33.7 million users, allegedly by a former employee who is a Chinese national.
Amid growing suspicion that Coupang has been trying to turn the matter into a diplomatic feud, Seoul is now keeping a close watch on the company’s suspected connections with US government officials and lawmakers.
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Robert O’Brien, who served as national security adviser during the first Donald Trump administration, said on Tuesday that the National Assembly’s aggressive targeting of Coupang will set the stage for further discriminatory measures by the Korean Fair Trade Commission and broader regulatory barriers towards US firms.
“Trump has worked hard to rebalance the trade relationship with Korea, and it would be very unfortunate if Korea undermines his efforts by targeting US tech firms,” he wrote on social media. “A strong, coordinated US response is essential to safeguard fair treatment of US companies and maintain strategic balance against China’s growing economic influence in the sector.”
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Republican Representative Darrell Issa also mentioned Coupang as one of the US tech firms subject to “a campaign of aggression” from the South Korean government.
“Specifically, this is being done by new digital trade laws that American companies will tell you simultaneously favour Korean and Chinese businesses and strangle their ability to operate in Korea,” he said in a column published on Monday by the Daily Caller, a US right-wing news website.