Coupang: "U.S. Lobbying Is Legal, Scale Smaller Than Major Korean Conglomerates"

15,768 Companies and Organizations Also Engage in U.S. Lobbying Activities

Coupang responded on July 16 to recent allegations regarding its lobbying activities in the United States by stating, "Lobbying in the United States is a legitimate business activity protected by the Constitution. It is regrettable to portray Coupang as an exception."

Coupang explained that lobbying the U.S. government and Congress is a standard part of government affairs for global companies operating in the U.S. market. According to OpenSecrets, an American political finance watchdog, there were 15,768 companies and organizations that engaged in lobbying activities directed at the U.S. government, White House, and both houses of Congress last year. The company added that major conglomerates from Korea also routinely conduct government affairs activities in the United States, either directly or through lobbyists.

Coupang also refuted suspicions regarding the scale of its lobbying efforts. The company stated, "It is not true that Coupang spends an astronomical amount on lobbying," and clarified that its first quarter lobbying expenses are only one-tenth those of major U.S. automobile companies (USD 11.38 million) and large information technology firms (USD 7.08 million), and remain relatively small even compared to leading Korean conglomerates.

The company further emphasized that it transparently discloses lobbying expenditures in accordance with the U.S. Lobbying Disclosure Act. Coupang argued that calculating lobbying scale by adding together the revenues reported by external lobbying firms and the expenditures reported by Coupang results in double counting the same spending.

Coupang also explained that the purpose of its lobbying is aligned with promoting economic cooperation between Korea and the United States and expanding global business operations. "We have invested over 6 trillion won in Korea, established around 100 logistics centers in 30 regions nationwide, and created more than 90,000 jobs," the company stated. Coupang also noted ongoing efforts to expand overseas businesses such as Rocket Delivery in Taiwan and the luxury goods platform Farfetch, as well as facilitating exports and trade.

Coupang stressed that the objectives of its lobbying activities have been clearly stated in the disclosure materials submitted to the U.S. government. The company detailed that these include expanding digital, retail, and logistics services for American small businesses and agricultural producers; job creation and economic growth in the U.S.; promoting exports and international trade and investment; enhancing economic cooperation between the U.S. and Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the UK, and the European Union; and matters related to corporate immigration policy. The company also added, "Raising or implying allegations that are unrelated to the stated and disclosed purposes of our lobbying activities is not true and constitutes defamation."

Meanwhile, according to documents released by the U.S. Senate, Coupang paid USD 250,000 (approximately KRW 370 million) to the lobbying firm Ballard Partners in the second quarter. The disclosed lobbying objectives included strengthening economic cooperation between the United States and its allies, specifically mentioning Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the UK, and the European Union. The lobbying targets included the White House, the Office of the President, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Ballard Partners is known to be led by Brian Ballard, who has a long-standing relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.