"Discrimination Against Coupang" Claims Met with Counter-Question: "What If Two-Thirds of the U.S. Population's Data Was Leaked?"

[Anchor]

Claims that the South Korean government is targeting and discriminating against U.S. companies like Coupang have been raised not only in a U.S. House of Representatives report but also by the White House. The Presidential Office refuted these claims, stating they are not based on facts, and countered by asking whether it would not be a serious issue if personal information equivalent to two-thirds of the U.S. population were leaked to China.

Reporter Kang Min-u has the story.

[Reporter]

A report by a U.S. House committee claims that the South Korean government is treating U.S. companies, including Coupang, in a discriminatory manner.

When asked about this by Korean media, a U.S. White House official stated, "The Trump administration is deeply concerned about the situation where the South Korean government is discriminatorily targeting U.S. technology companies," adding that by any reasonable standard, the Lee Jae-myung administration is singling out Coupang.

In response, the Presidential Office stated today (July 3) that it "does not treat corporate activities differently based on nationality, nor does it target anyone for investigation."

Wi Sung-lac, Director of the National Security Office, emphasized that "more than 33 million pieces of personal information were leaked, a fact that the company, Coupang, has admitted," and noted that "a former Coupang employee, who is a Chinese national, leaked the data from China," adding that "the data may also contain information on U.S. citizens living in South Korea."

In particular, Director Wi pointed out that if a similar data breach had occurred in the United States, "if personal information equivalent to two-thirds of the U.S. population were leaked to China and it was unknown where it went, it would undoubtedly be a very serious issue in the United States."

The message is that the U.S. side should consider the Coupang issue from a different perspective.

As there is a precedent where the U.S. delayed South Korea-U.S. security negotiations, including the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines, for over five months using the Coupang situation as leverage, some are calling for a more sophisticated response.

The National Assembly Secretariat issued a separate statement today, expressing regret over the U.S. House report, which claimed that the National Assembly's hearing on Coupang was "hostile and discriminatory," stating that the report unilaterally reflected only the claims made by Coupang.

(Video reporting: Jung Sang-bo, Yoon Hyung | Video editing: Jang Hyun-ki | Graphics: Kim Ye-ji)

※