U.S. Civic Group: "Coupang Pressures South Korea Through Lobbying the Administration and Congress" ... Cheong Wa Dae Stresses "Containing Security Fallout"

U.S. Public Citizen Releases Policy Memo

Coupang Donated $1 Million to Trump's Inaugural Committee

$5.89 Million in U.S. Lobbying Expenses

Wi Sung-lac at July Briefing on U.S. Pressure:

"Only Coupang's One-Sided Claims Were Reflected"

"South Korea-U.S. Security Cooperation Must Not Be Affected"

A U.S. civic group criticized Coupang, saying the company is waging an extensive lobbying campaign targeting the Trump Administration and Congress to undermine South Korean government regulatory measures. The group said Coupang has characterized South Korea's enforcement actions over a personal information leak and unfair trade practices as discrimination against U.S. companies, while also using U.S. trade policy as a means of pressure. The criticism has drawn attention as U.S. voices have now formally spoken out against Coupang's lobbying activities, while Cheong Wa Dae has warned against the Coupang issue spilling over into South Korea-U.S. security cooperation.

Coupang Inc. posted its largest operating loss since going public in 2021, following a fine over a personal data breach.

Coupang Inc., listed on the New York Stock Exchange, disclosed on the 4th (local time) that it recorded an operating loss of 835 billion won ($556 million) in the second quarter of this year, swinging to a loss from a profit a year earlier. The photo shows the area in front of Coupang in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Aug. 5, 2026. Yonhap News

According to Public Citizen, a U.S. civic group, the organization released a policy memo on October 29 (local time) titled "Coupang's Improper Pressure Campaign to Weaponize U.S. Trade Policy Against South Korea's Digital Regulations." The report was written by Melinda St. Louis, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. Public Citizen was founded in 1971 by Ralph Nader, a prominent U.S. consumer advocate, and is a respected public interest watchdog group funded by individual donations and foundation grants, without government funding.

Public Citizen said Coupang is using its status as a U.S. company to turn legitimate South Korean government regulations into an international trade issue. Coupang is incorporated in Delaware and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but more than 90% of its $34.5 billion in total revenue last year came from South Korea. The report's central argument is that Coupang relies overwhelmingly on the South Korean market while mobilizing its influence in U.S. political circles to respond to South Korean regulations.

The report focused particularly on Coupang's lobbying activities in the United States. Public Citizen said Coupang spent $2.27 million on lobbying in the United States last year. The latest lobbying disclosures filed with the U.S. Congress show that Coupang spent $3.62 million in the first three quarters of this year, bringing its cumulative reported spending since last year to $5.89 million.

The report said Coupang used 32 lobbyists, three of whom were company employees. Of all its lobbyists, 56% were classified as "revolving-door" figures who use experience in government or politics in their private-sector lobbying work. Coupang was found to have hired Rob Porter, a former Trump Administration official, among others, and to have retained outside lobbying firms including Ballard Partners and Miller Strategies, which have close ties to President Trump. It also participated in industry groups such as the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), and the U.S.-Korea Business Council (USKBC).

Coupang also provided financial support to political circles. According to the report, the company donated $1 million to President Trump's inaugural committee. Its political contributions last year totaled about $200,000, and in 2024 it also donated $100,000 to the Kennedy Center.

Public Citizen drew attention to the connection between these lobbying activities and moves in U.S. political circles. In December 2025, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the grounds that South Korean and European Union (EU) digital regulations target U.S. technology companies. In April 2026, more than 50 U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to the South Korean government calling on it to end the discriminatory treatment of U.S. companies, including Coupang. A report released by the House Judiciary Committee in July 2026 also alleged that the South Korean government was investigating Coupang in a discriminatory manner.

Cheong Wa Dae immediately pushed back at the time. At a briefing on July 3, 2026, Wi Sung-lac, director of the Office of National Security, said, "The investigation related to Coupang is being conducted under domestic law, in accordance with due process, and without discrimination." He added, "The report does not reflect much of our account and presents only Coupang's one-sided claims, so we have expressed our regret."

Wi specifically warned against the Coupang issue spreading to broader South Korea-U.S. relations. "We want to ensure that this matter does not grow excessively and have repercussions in other areas of South Korea-U.S. relations, including security," he said. "We will work to isolate or separate the issue so that it does not affect the other issues between South Korea and the United States."

The Coupang issue was also discussed through high-level South Korea-U.S. diplomatic channels. The Coupang situation was raised at a White House meeting in January 2026 between then-Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in June 2026 that the treatment of U.S. companies in South Korea had affected the finalization of a trade agreement.

Public Citizen suggested that the Coupang issue may also have played a role in U.S. tariff pressure. It criticized the use of U.S. trade policy as a means of protecting the interests of domestic companies. The group said the Coupang case illustrates how a multinational company headquartered in the United States can characterize another country's law enforcement as a trade barrier and mobilize pressure from its home government.

Coupang, for its part, has said that its lobbying in the United States is lawful activity aimed at promoting South Korea-U.S. economic cooperation and expanding investment, and that the claim it is intended to pressure the South Korean government is untrue.

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