Report: U.S. lawmakers continue to take issue with South Korea’s digital regulations and competition enforcement actions, arguing that they unfairly target American companies like Coupang and Google, making it difficult for them to do business. Despite Cheong Wa Dae’s efforts to clear up misunderstandings about its rules to protect consumers, including dispatching Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo to Washington this week, issues remain.
Rosyn Park has this report.

Anchor: Adrian Smith, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, criticized South Korea during a hearing in Washington on Tuesday for continuing to pursue legislative efforts that he said explicitly target U.S. companies.

He said the moves contradict a joint trade fact sheet the two allies released in November that affirmed South Korea’s commitment to ensuring U.S. companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary barriers.

Smith and other subcommittee members, including Democratic Rep. Susan DelBene, cited measures against Coupang as an example of South Korean regulators targeting U.S. tech leaders with discriminatory regulatory actions.

Coupang, South Korea’s biggest online retailer, which is 100 percent owned by its U.S.-listed parent company, Coupang Inc., has been facing tough penalties and lawsuits since a massive data breach exposed nearly 34 million customers’ personal information.

The South Korean government’s position, however, is that there is no discrimination as its digital regulations apply equally to companies in all countries.

To try and quell concerns about South Korea’s digital regulatory trends, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo has been meeting with lawmakers and other related officials in Washington this week.

His visit comes after the U.S. said it had significant concerns with a recently passed revision to the Information and Communications Network Act aimed at tackling false and fabricated online information, saying the changes could undermine freedom of expression and negatively affect American online platforms.

Meanwhile, Coupang, which has been aggressively lobbying the Donald Trump administration and Congress, is looking to turn its data leak into a trade issue, according to some experts, raising concerns that Washington will increase pressure on Seoul and potentially push it to stop its investigations into the company.
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.