Korea dismisses claim over discriminatory action toward Coupang

Investors in US-listed, Korea-heavy e-commerce firm seek investor-state dispute settlement, Washington's intervention

Coupang's Seoul headquarters (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has reiterated the stance of there being no discrimination against Coupang, with Coupang investors seeking to file arbitration claims against Seoul over what they describe as anti-Coupang actions and requesting Washington to step in.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, Kim said Korea and the US are at a trust level where one does not have to worry about discriminatory treatments during a meeting with members of the US House of Representatives in Washington on Thursday.

"Korea does not think that the 'Georgia incident' was a discriminatory incident because Korean workers were involved," he said. "In a similar manner, (Korea) is not taking action because Coupang is a US firm."

The Georgia incident refers to an immigration raid in the southeastern state of the US at a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, where over 300 Koreans were detained in September 2025.

Kim's remarks came after Greenoaks and Altimeter — two investors that hold Coupang shares worth about $1.5 billion combined — notified the Korean government of their intent to fight for an investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS, under the free trade agreement between Korea and the US.

They claimed that the Korean government's actions against Coupang appear "designed to target, disable and destroy an American competitor to the apparent benefit of domestic and Chinese companies in the Korean market."

The US investors cited the prime minister as urging regulators to approach enforcement against Coupang for the data breach “with the same determination used to wipe out mafias.”

However, the Prime Minister’s Office said the quote was distorted out of context, pointing out that Kim never mentioned a specific company in his words, but was talking about making the market a fair playing field to earn investors’ trust.

The Ministry of Justice, which along with the presidential office received the letter of ISDS intent from Covington & Burling, representing the US investors, is expected to hold a meeting with relevant government bodies next week to discuss and review the matter.

The Korean government has formed a private-public joint investigative team to carry out a probe into Coupang's data breach, which was announced in November last year. The government has asserted that the personal information of 33.7 million customers was leaked.

However, Coupang has denied that data for the entire 33.7 million had been accessed, contending the perpetrator accessed data from only about 3,000 accounts. Coupang rolled out a 1.7 trillion won ($1.16 billion) compensation plan at the end of last year.

Greenoaks and Altimeter also petitioned the US Trade Representative to investigate the Korean government's action against Coupang and impose appropriate trade remedies, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a cornerstone US law to counteract unfair trade practices by foreign governments.

Having up to 45 days to decide what to do with the petition, the USTR could initiate a formal investigation, which could in turn result in countermeasures, such as imposing tariffs on Korea's US-bound exports.

"When a close ally penalizes a US company for its success, it compromises a vital partnership and opens the door to competitors that don't play by the rules," said Neil Mehta, Greenoaks' founder and managing partner. Mehta has served as a member of Coupang's board of directors since 2010.

Delaware-incorporated Coupang Inc., which owns 100 percent of Korea's Coupang business, went public on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2021. The stock price of Coupang has decreased more than 25 percent since the disclosure of the data breach.

Meanwhile, Coupang said Friday that it has no connection to the US investors filing for the ISDS, adding that it has been fully complying with the Korean government's requests.