"Korean Government's Discriminatory Treatment"... Coupang's U.S. Investors Request Investigation by U.S. Government

Coupang's U.S. investors have filed a petition requesting the U.S. government to investigate and take action against what they claim is discriminatory treatment by the Korean government toward Coupang.

According to U.S. media outlets such as Axios on January 22, Coupang’s investors, Greenoaks and Altimeter, have asked the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate the Korean government’s actions regarding Coupang and to take appropriate trade remedy measures, including tariffs and other sanctions.

It has also been reported that these investors have filed for arbitration against the Korean government under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). They claim to have suffered billions of dollars in losses due to what they describe as a campaign targeting Coupang by the Korean government following the company’s personal data breach incident.

In November of last year, Coupang experienced an unprecedented security breach in which the personal information of approximately 33.7 million people was exposed without authorization. The Korean government is currently conducting an investigation into the incident together with experts.