South Korea expresses regret over U.S. report accusing 'discriminatory attacks' against Coupang

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry on Thursday expressed regret over a U.S. House Judiciary Committee report that accused Seoul of carrying out "discriminatory attacks" against e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. and other American firms.

In an interim staff report released Wednesday (U.S. time), the committee said Coupang has been a "consistent target" of the Seoul government, claiming South Korea has subjected U.S.-owned firms to "coercive investigations, overly burdensome regulatory requirements and excessive fines and penalties" in favor of Korean firms.

"We express regret that the report appears to reflect only Coupang's claims in a one-sided manner," ministry spokesperson Park Il said in a press briefing, noting that the report fails to reflect the Seoul government's position and the factual information it has provided to the committee.

"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," Park added.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) also disputed the e-commerce giant's claims in the report, calling them "outright falsehoods."

In a statement released in the afternoon, the agency said the report was riddled with misinformation.

The NIS said it worked with Coupang to "gather relevant information and prevent further damage" under Article 4 of the National Intelligence Service Act, which classifies a large-scale data leak involving foreign nationals as a national security matter.

On Coupang's claim that the NIS had steered the overall direction of the consultations, the agency said its involvement was "simply aimed at sharing necessary information."

It also rejected the company's claim that it had overseen the retrieval of a laptop allegedly used in the hacking, saying it merely helped ensure the device -- which reportedly held personal data of Korean nationals -- was recovered safely.

Coupang has faced public criticism and investigations over a massive data leak in South Korea that is believed to have affected more than 33 million users.

The strongly worded report has renewed concerns that the Coupang issue could affect broader aspects of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

Officials in Seoul have acknowledged that the issue has contributed, at least in part, to delays in bilateral security consultations outlined in the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet released following the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in October.

The consultations, which focus on Seoul's push to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine, and secure capabilities for civil uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, were held only last month after they were initially expected to begin earlier this year.

"The government will continue consultations with the U.S. side to ensure that issues related to Coupang do not have a negative impact on security discussions between the two nations," Park said.

Officials said additional reports or congressional hearings could follow, given that the document is an interim staff report akin to a preliminary report, adding that the government will continue outreach efforts to explain Seoul's position on the issue.

Seoul and Washington are also working to hold a second round of security consultations later this month, the officials said.