Labor and Civil Groups Criticize U.S. Congress 'Coupang Report'... Plan to Deliver Protest Letter

Labor and civil society organizations are criticizing a report by the U.S. Congress that claims the Korean government discriminates against Coupang and other American companies, and will be sending a letter of protest to the U.S. House of Representatives.

On the 21st, at the Areumdri Hall of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Kwon Youngguk, a lawyer of the Coupang Countermeasure Committee, is speaking at a press conference for foreign journalists hosted by the Joint Action for Safe Coupang, where Korea’s labor and civil society groups are exposing Coupang's illegal activities. Photo by Yonhap News.

The Joint Action for Making Coupang Safe, a coalition of 135 organizations including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, held a press conference for foreign correspondents on the 21st at People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Youngguk Kwon, a lawyer from the Coupang Countermeasure Committee, criticized the report, saying, "It is so biased and subjective that it can hardly be considered an authoritative government document. No objective verification of the facts has been conducted, and it appears the Korean government’s position was not reflected at all."

Kwon also stated, "The report treats a major data breach involving tens of millions of Coupang users’ personal information as a minor incident of a former employee accessing Coupang’s data systems without authorization, while remaining completely silent on Coupang’s other illegal activities in Korea."

The participating organizations also highlighted Coupang’s responsibilities, mentioning allegations that Chairman Kim Bom-seok ordered the concealment of a death from overwork as an industrial accident, deaths among delivery workers due to overwork, and suspicion of manipulating algorithms to promote private label products.

Previously, on July 1, the House Judiciary Committee released a report titled "Blocking Competition: Discriminatory Attacks by Korea on American-Owned Firms," claiming that the Korean government is treating Coupang and other U.S. companies unfairly.

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