S. Korea tells US House panel its digital regulations don't discriminate against Coupang

The South Korean government has submitted a rebuttal to the US House Legislation and Judiciary Committee, asserting that its regulations targeting Coupang Inc. have not been discriminatory.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that the South Korean Embassy in Washington delivered a detailed position paper to the committee to correct factual errors and explain the government's stance in response to the panel's interim working report on Coupang Inc.

The embassy submitted the paper to the committee on Thursday, covering four areas: the principles governing South Korea's regulatory legislation and enforcement; the non-discriminatory nature of South Korea's digital regulations; the facts surrounding the Coupang Inc. data breach and the validity of the Personal Information Protection Commission's sanctions; and the legality of the government's measures against Coupang Inc., including a multi-agency investigation and National Assembly hearings.

In the same document, the South Korean government again expressed deep regret that the House committee's report was based on unverified claims. The Foreign Ministry said Seoul also asked the committee to correct inaccurate portions of the report and add important omitted facts.

"Going forward, the government will continue to manage the Coupang situation so that it does not strain the South Korea-US relationship, while maintaining ongoing contact with the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and other circles in the United States to actively counter Coupang's distortion of the facts," the ministry said.

Earlier, the House Legislation and Judiciary Committee released a report on July 1, local time, claiming that the South Korean government had been discriminating against Coupang Inc., a US company, through its regulatory actions.