US House accuses South Korea of discriminating US firms

A U.S. congressional committee has accused South Korea of systematically discriminating against American companies, alleging that Seoul's aggressive regulatory response to a data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang violates a recent bilateral trade agreement. South Korean officials have firmly rejected the allegations as one-sided and inaccurate.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a 35-page interim report on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, titled "Closed for Competition: South Korea's Discriminatory Attacks on American-owned Businesses." The report centers on South Korea's investigation into a massive data breach at Coupang, a U.S.-listed company that operates primarily in South Korea. The breach, which occurred last year, exposed the personal information of tens of millions of users, sparking public outrage and a sweeping government response.

The committee's report alleges that after the breach was discovered, South Korean authorities escalated into a "whole-of-government assault" on Coupang. It claims more than ten agencies launched dozens of investigations, issued thousands of document requests, and conducted hundreds of employee interviews. The report further contends that...