A White House official said Thursday that Coupang is being singled out by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration, in response to a House Judiciary Committee report.
A White House official expressed deep concern over the Republic of Korea government's discriminatory targeting of U.S. technology companies. The official said, "By any reasonable measure, Coupang is being singled out by the Lee government."
The House Judiciary Committee released its 35-page interim staff report on Wednesday. The report described South Korean authorities' investigations into Coupang as "discriminatory attacks." Those probes followed the November disclosure of a data leak affecting more than 33 million users.
South Korea's foreign ministry expressed regret that the report reflected Coupang's claims in a one-sided manner. Spokesman Park Il said, "Investigations and regulatory measures concerning Coupang have been conducted lawfully under South Korean law and have been implemented in a fair and non-discriminatory manner, regardless of nationality."
Former Trump administration official Fred Fleitz warned that the dispute could strain the U.S.-South Korea alliance amid North Korean threats.