Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have previously defended Coupang's stance have sent a pressuring letter of protest to the South Korean government regarding the amended Information and Communications Network Act, which took effect in South Korea last month.

Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, made the letter public via his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 6th local time.

The letter was co-signed by fellow Judiciary Committee Republicans, including Representatives Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Michael Baumgartner (R-WA).

In the letter sent to the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), the lawmakers claimed that the Network Act poses a "significant threat to online speech and expression" and will "allow the KMCC to penalize U.S. companies and users exercising constitutionally protected rights."

The Network Act was passed by the National Assembly on December 24 of last year and took effect on July 7 of last month.

It includes provisions and penalties obligating platform operators—such as Naver, Kakao, Google, Meta, and X—to remove or block false and manipulated information.

Ever since the Network Act passed the National Assembly last year, the U.S. Department of State has repeatedly expressed "serious concerns," calling it an "unnecessary barrier to digital services." This time, Republican House members appear to have stepped up the pressure in the form of a letter sent directly to the South Korean government.

The lawmakers stated that the law "does not define false information, nor does it provide specifics on how this law can or will actually be enforced."

They argued that the "vague and ambiguous scope of application raises concerns that it could be used to censor politically disfavored opinions," adding that it could have a "chilling effect on freedom of expression and online speech overall."

Mentioning that the Network Act—which imposes legal obligations such as the removal of illegal and false information on major platform operators—was benchmarked after the European Union's (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA), they stated, "South Korea appears to be following in the EU's footsteps."

In a separate statement, Representative Fitzgerald argued, "No foreign government has the right to pressure American companies into censoring constitutionally protected speech," adding that South Korea's so-called "misinformation law" is "vague, broad, and ripe for abuse."

Last month, the House Judiciary Committee also released a report claiming that the South Korean government is discriminatorily treating U.S. companies, including Coupang, and that this violates the South Korea-U.S. trade agreement.

The report was reportedly led and authored by House Judiciary Committee Republicans, including Chairman Jim Jordan.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)