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Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Park Il conducts a briefing on current issues in the briefing room of the Government Complex Seoul annex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 31st. / Photo by Reporter Park Seong-il, Asiatoday

The South Korean government expressed regret on July 2 over a US House Judiciary Committee report claiming that South Korea has treated American companies like Coupang discriminatorily.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Park Il stated during a regular briefing at the ministry building that day, "The contents of the report, which claim that our government is continuing discriminatory investigations and unfair regulations against Coupang, do not align with the facts." He added, "We express regret that our positions and factual clarifications previously provided to the US Judiciary Committee were not reflected at all."

On July 1 (local time), the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee released a 35-page report citing the South Korean Fair Trade Commission's investigation practices, digital regulations, and the government's response to Coupang's personal data leaks as instances of discrimination against American companies, claiming these directly violate the US-South Korea trade agreement. The report contained high-intensity rhetoric targeting South Korea, stating, "South Korea has targeted US firms for decades, but the discriminatory treatment has accelerated significantly over the last several years."

Spokesperson Park clarified, "The investigations and measures regarding Coupang are conducted lawfully and non-discriminatorily under domestic law, and the government guarantees a fair environment for corporate activities regardless of nationality." He added, "In this regard, the government has faithfully explained our position while communicating with the US Judiciary Committee."

The government maintains that it adheres to its commitment to deploy non-discriminatory policies toward US digital firms, as included in the US-South Korea Joint Fact Sheet (JFS).

Park emphasized, "We will continue to contact the US Congress, including the House Judiciary Committee, as well as the administration, to convey accurate information. Concurrently, we will actively explain that the government is faithfully implementing its promise under the US-South Korea JFS to treat American digital companies in a non-discriminatory manner."

Regarding the possibility that the "Coupang incident" could adversely affect security consultations, such as South Korea's introduction of nuclear submarines and nuclear fuel enrichment and reprocessing, he stated, "Regarding South Korea's pursuit of nuclear submarines, there is a very close and robust consensus between South Korea and the US." He noted, "A broad foundation of support regarding the necessity, justification, and objectives of South Korean nuclear submarines has been formed within US political circles as well."

                                                                                                          Mok Yong-jae