Gov't contests unfair treatment against Coupang in reply to US lawmakers' letter
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building at Government Complex Seoul / Korea Times file
The Korean Embassy in the United States has replied to a letter from U.S. Republican lawmakers taking issue with what they described as discriminatory regulations against e-commerce giant Coupang and other American companies, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
Late last month, 54 Republican members of the U.S. House affiliated with the Republican Study Committee (RSC) released a letter they sent to South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, in which they urged Seoul to halt what they called unfair treatment of U.S. firms, including Coupang.
Seoul's foreign ministry said the embassy sent a reply under Kang's name, stressing that investigations and measures related to Coupang are being conducted in a "fair" and "non-discriminatory" way in accordance with relevant domestic laws and regulations.
"The government will continue to follow a non-discriminatory policy toward U.S. digital firms, including Coupang, and explain its position to the U.S. Congress," a foreign ministry official said.
Seoul and Washington have been at odds over what some in the United States view as unfair treatment of the U.S.-listed e-commerce giant currently under probe in Seoul over its massive breach of personal information involving more than 33 million users. (Yonhap)