Jane Han is the North America editor for The Korea Times. Based in Seattle, she has covered business, culture and social issues across the United States for over 15 years. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.
Coupang calls itself US company, but little known to Americans
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, Coupang Founder and CEO Kim Bom-suk, third from left, and his colleagues, joined by NYSE Vice Chairman John Tuttle, fifth from left, rings the NYSE opening before his company's initial public offering, March 11, 2021. AP-Yonhap
By Jane Han
SEATTLE — Coupang is headquartered in Seattle, listed on the New York Stock Exchange and incorporated in Delaware. By its own definition, it is an American company.
But on a recent afternoon in South Lake Union, just blocks from Amazon’s sprawling campus, the name drew blank stares from passersby and office workers alike.
“I’ve lived here for 10 years and never heard of it,” said Jason Miller, a software engineer working nearby. “If it’s a Seattle company, it’s not one people here interact with.”
At a nearby coffee shop, marketing consultant Emily Chen said the label feels off. “When you say ‘American company,’ I think of something that operates here, hires here, has customers here,” she said. “This doesn’t sound like that.”
The disconnect underscores a growing tension as Coupang finds itself at the center of a geopolitical dispute between Washington and Seoul, drawing attention well beyond its core market.
U.S. Republican lawmakers have recently stepped in to defend the company, accusing Korea of discriminating against American firms, with Coupang cited alongside major tech names. The push follows a sweeping Korean investigation into a major data breach at Coupang that exposed the personal information of tens of millions of users, prompting regulatory scrutiny of the e-commerce giant.
Coupang has also ramped up its presence in Washington, spending millions of dollars on lobbying and government relations in recent years as it seeks to position itself as a U.S. corporate stakeholder despite its Korea-focused operations and customer base.
Still, the company’s identity remains murky to many Americans, even in the city it calls home.
Online, the gap between Coupang’s legal identity and public recognition has drawn a mix of confusion and skepticism.
One commenter said they first came across the company when a U.S. lawmaker mentioned it alongside firms like Apple and Amazon, adding that “one of these firms is not like the other.”
Others took a more pointed tone, with references circulating to lawmakers as “Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Coupang)” and broader criticism of the company’s growing visibility in Washington.
Some comments went further, suggesting Coupang’s lobbying efforts have helped elevate its profile among U.S. policymakers, though such claims remain unverified.
The divide highlights a broader question at the heart of the dispute.
Coupang’s American identity is clear on paper. The company is U.S.-incorporated and headquartered in Seattle. But its business, customers and market power are overwhelmingly based in Korea.
For U.S. lawmakers, that corporate status provides a basis for intervention, though the company’s growing lobbying presence in Washington has also raised questions about how it has gained traction in policy debates. For Korean regulators, it's still a dominant domestic platform subject to local law, regardless of where it is incorporated.